New Delhi: Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), a consortium of 40 farmers' organisations from across the country, held peaceful protests on Friday against the newly launched Agnipath scheme and submitted a memorandum terming the military recruitment plan as “anti-military, anti-farmer, and anti-national”, news agency IANS reported. The SKM, that was instrumental in the year-long agitation forcing the government to withdraw the three farm laws, held widespread demonstrations in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh.
Staging protests along with trade unions, civil society organisations, and students across multiple districts, the SKM submitted memorandums to the respective district magistrates and district collectors.
According to the IANS report, SKM termed the Agnipath scheme as "a big fraud upon the nation", for the youth aspiring to join the armed forces as well as the farmer families of the nation.
Saying that it is grave injustice to the youth to make three-fourths of the Agniveers “stand on the road” after four years of service, the SKM, as quoted by IANS said, "Replacing the regiment's social character with 'All Class All India' recruits would be a huge blow to the regions and communities that have served the nation through the army for generations. These include areas like Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, western Uttar Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan."
The farmers’ organisation also demanded that there should be no imposition of a condition to make an affidavit, withdrawal of all the false cases registered against youths involved in anti-Agnipath protests, and the release of arrested youths.