Agniveer Brainchild Of PM Modi, Not A Decision By Army: Rahul Gandhi Attacks BJP In Parliament

Rahul Gandhi said when Congress government comes to power, it will scrap the Agnipath scheme because it is against armed forces and patriots.

File photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing issue on the NDA 3.0 government in the Lok Sabha saying the Agniveer scheme is a brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and not a decision by the Army. He also said that when the Congress government comes to power, it will scrap the scheme.  

Speaking in the Parliament, Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of Agniveers saying they are treated like "use and throw" labour.

"Agniveer is a use and throw labour. One jawan is getting a pension, while another is not. You are creating a divide between jawans," Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament.

He said, "When our government comes, we will scrap the Agnipath scheme because we think it is against armed forces, patriots." 

The Congress MP also attacked the government on MSP saying, "Farmers want MSP with legal guarantee which govt is not willing to give."

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh rebutted Rahul Gandhi's claims in the Lok Sabha on the Agnipath military recruitment scheme on Monday, saying it was rolled out after taking suggestions from 158 organisations.

Singh, who intervened when Gandhi was speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, also said that an Agniveer who lays down his life in the line of duty gets a compensation of Rs 1 crore. The Union minister asked Gandhi not to mislead Parliament and also requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to expunge the former Congress president's claims on the Agnipath scheme.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also sought to counter the Congress leader's arguments on the scheme in the Lower House of Parliament. "This House is not for spreading lies. Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the House, to the country and Agniveers," he said.

The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, 2022, provides for the recruitment of youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for only four years, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. The government extended the upper age limit to 23 years later that year.