Congress raps Modi govt for pushing Agniveers into private security agencies
Asks what happened to the promise of absorbing them in pensionable government jobs
NEW DELHI :
The Congress today criticised the Government of India for pushing the retiring ‘Agniveers’ into private security agencies instead of providing them with pensionable government jobs as promised.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here today, Chairman of the Ex-Servicemen Department in the AICC, Col Rohit Chaudhary, referred to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry and followed up by the Haryana government, asking various monitoring agencies to direct private security firms to give preference to “retired” Agniveers in recruitment. He said this was quite insulting and humiliating for the Agniveers who had fought for the country and given precious four years to the nation — only to be pushed into menial jobs as security guards outside private company offices.
Col Chaudhary reminded the Union Home Minister of his promise that retired Agniveers would be accommodated in government jobs in the states and at the Centre.
The AICC Ex-Servicemen Department Chairman noted that this was like pushing these trained soldiers into private armies as mercenaries, similar to those fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Congress leader reiterated his party’s demand for scrapping the Agnipath scheme and regularising all those who have been recruited as Agniveers. He said the scheme was not in the interest of the country’s security and was rather threatening and harmful. He pointed out that recruitment in the defence services had substantially declined after the introduction of the Agnipath scheme, with the strength coming down from 15 lakh to 11 lakh personnel.
Col Chaudhary made special reference to Bihar, saying that nearly 11 percent of defence services recruitment was from the state. Besides, he added, there were about four lakh ex-servicemen there.
He said the Congress would raise the issue in Bihar as well, since during the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Rahul Gandhi was continuously urged by the youth to get the Agnipath scheme scrapped.
