Itanagar: The Congress in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday staged protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment in armed forces, stating that the BJP-led dispensation was “playing around with the country’s security and the future of youth”.
Activists of the grand old party, holding banners and placards that flayed the scheme, criticised the BJP government for subverting “the long-standing traditions and ethos of the armed forces”.
Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) spokesperson Gyamar Tana said the “ill-conceived scheme was introduced by the BJP government without any wider consultations”.
“The BJP is playing around with India’s security and the future of the youths. Agnipath scheme not just compromises our national security, it is also a cruel joke on our youth,” Tana told reporters.
He maintained that the Congress, which has “always fought for safeguarding national interests”, had on day one exposed the far-reaching impact of Agnipath’ on the national security and the morale of the armed forces.
“The Congress stands firmly with the youth and will non-violently seek the immediate rollback of the scheme by the NDA government,” he added.
Protests have broken out in several parts of the country over the ‘Agnipath’ scheme under which hiring has been proposed for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for at least 75 per cent of the personnel, without any pension benefits.
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