From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday disassociated with the views expressed by its MP and former I&B Minister Manish Tewari on Agnipath in the latest edition of The Indian Express, with its chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh tweeting that his views are “entirely own and not of the party.”
Ramesh said the Congress firmly believes Agnipath is anti-national security and anti-youth, bulldozed through without discussion.
In his article entitled “Inevitability of Agnipath,” Tewari, who is also a practicing lawyer, argued that the recruitment reform musst be seen alongside other defence reforms, including appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and reorganisation of the Armed Forces into theatre commands.
Tewari argued that India had started seriously thinking of reforming and modernising its defence forces and command and control structure, in the wake of the 1999 Kargil war. Among the slew of reforms that the Kargil Review Committee recommended, one pertained to the recruitment practices of the Armed Forces. It stated, the Army must be young and fit at all times. “Therefore, instead of the present practice of having 17 years of colour services (as has been the policy since 1976) it would be advisable to reduce the colour service to a period of seven to ten years, and, therefore, release these officers and men for service here,” he noted.
He said the review committee reports were endorsed by a Group of Ministers (GoM), stating that “in order to ensure that the armed forces are their fighting best at all times, there is a need to ensure a younger profile of the Services. So do the central para military forces.
