Agniveer scheme brought after lot of thought: Rajnath's reply to Rahul

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh rebutted Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's claims in the Lok Sabha on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme on Monday, saying it was rolled out after taking suggestions from 158 organisations.

Singh, who intervened when Gandhi was speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, also said that an Agniveer who lays down his life in the line of duty gets a compensation of Rs 1 crore.

The Union minister asked Gandhi not to mislead Parliament and also requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to expunge the former Congress president's claims on the Agnipath scheme.

Referring to the military recruitment scheme, Gandhi claimed that the government regards the Agniveers as "use-and-throw labourers" and does not even give them the status of a "shaheed (martyr)".

Intervening, the defence minister said, "I would like to humbly request the leader of the opposition not to try to mislead Parliament. Regarding the Agniveer scheme, direct communication was established with many people, 158 organisations, their suggestions were taken, then this Agniveer scheme was brought. This scheme has been brought after a lot of thought."

"And, I would also like to make it clear that these kinds of schemes are operational in many countries. It is there in the US, in the UK. People there do not have any objection. Without understanding the Agniveer scheme, without getting proper information about it... to mislead the House like this, can not be deemed appropriate," the minister added.

After Singh's rebuttal, Gandhi said, "Rajnath Singh has an opinion and I have an opinion but Agniveers know the truth. Agniveers know what they have to face."
 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also sought to counter the Congress leader's arguments on the scheme in the Lower House of Parliament.

"This House is not for spreading lies. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the House, to the country and Agniveers," he said.

Gandhi claimed that the armed forces knew that Agnipath was Modi's brainchild, prompting Singh to accuse the leader of the opposition of misleading the House.

"If we come to power, we will scrap the Agnipath scheme as it is against jawans, the armed forces and deshbhakts (patriots)," he said.

Singh later posted a video clip on 'X', showing his response to Gandhi's claims in the House on the scheme.

"...This scheme has been brought after a lot of thought," he wrote.

The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, 2022, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for only four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. The government extended the upper age limit to 23 years later that year.