From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Modi for reducing his ministers to sell his “Agnipath” recruitment scheme like a salesman selling a formula outside railway station to kill rats.
He has since joined the Congress and he was addressing a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters, along with new AICC media chief Pawan Khera and party MP Pramod Tiwari to press the government to withdraw the scheme imposed without any consultations.
All three appealed to the youths agitating against the scheme, particularly in Bihar, that their struggle will succeed only if it remains peaceful and non-violence. They pleaded with them not to destroy or damage the public property. They said the government is mum on reasons for finishing the regular process for filling up 55,000 posts that fall vacant every year.
Khera asserted that the “Agnipath” scheme has been conceived by the government for infiltration of the RSS in the Armed Forces by identifying 25% who follow its ideology. Much more serious is the militarisation of the society by putting 75% of the trained soldiers back in public life by resorting to the demilitarisation of the forces, he said.
Pramod Tiwari summed up the scheme as “no rank, no pension, only tension witout direction. He said the Congress is more concerned about 75% entering the society with the armed military training as it may produce gangs of the armed personnel roaming around.
Kanhaiya said Modi’s salesmen are busy making false claims as lollypops as every salesman does, noting that Home Minister Amit Shah did not promise to absorb 25% of those “Agniveers” retiring after four years of service as he cleverly used the words “up to 25%” which can mean any percentage below 25% and no word about the rest of 75%.
He also dismissed a claim that those serving the Armed Forces for four years will have Rs 20 lakh in their accounts, noting that it is the similar kind of promise the Prime Minister gave to put Rs 15 lakh in every citizen’s account, once all the black money is unearthed. He said the demonetisation was another scheme brought promising that it will end terrorism in the country. Why then Pulwama massacre, he asked.
Kanhaiya noted that the Centre has 28 lakh vacancies that can be filled up to help the jobless instead of pushing the youth into fire, noting that those joining the Armed Forces as soldiers are children of farmers toiling in the villages and not a son of the Home Minister whose first choice is to be the BCCI president.
