No proposal for compulsory military training: Government

The government is not in favour of compulsory military training to youth in the country, Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Minister was responding to a question by BJP member Ram Charan Bohra, who asked if the government proposed to impart compulsory military training to the youth in the country.

"The government is not in favour of making military training compulsory," the minister said in a written reply.

Asked about details of any proposals that had been made on the issue, the minister listed three private members' bills presented to the house between 2012 and 2015.

The first bill, brought by Rajya Sabha member Avinash Rai Khanna in December 2012, sought to provide military training to youth.

The second private member bill was brought by Lok Sabha MP Bhola Singh in February 2015 for providing military training to all able-bodied citizens.

The third bill, presented in the Lok Sabha by B.C. Khanduri, who also heads the parliamentary panel on defence, sought compulsory military training to gazetted officers of central government.

None of the private members' bills, however, found favour with the respective houses.

--IANS

ao/pgh/dg