People Who Oppose Agnipath Scheme Had Weakened Defence: Modi’s Indirect Attack On Congress On Kargil Vijay Diwas

Kargil: Taking an indirect jibe at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday alleged that some people have criticized the Agnipath scheme for their own vested interests as these were the people who weakened the defence system by indulging in corruption over the years.

He lauded the Agnipath scheme while addressing the Army personnel and their families on the occasion of 25^th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas after paying tribute to the martyrs of the 1999 Kargil War at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Ladakh.

‘They didn’t want Indian Air Force to have modern jets’

Making an indirect reference to the Bofors Scandal that had rocked the Rajiv Gandhi-led government in the late 1980s, Modi said, “People who are opposing the Agnipath scheme are those who never wanted the Army to be strengthened.” He also alleged that such people also didn’t want the Indian Air Force to have modern fighter jets and had made all arrangements to decommission Tejas (combat aircraft) and ‘keep it locked in boxes.’ By referring to the fighter jets, Modi slammed the Rahul Gandhi-led opposition that had been alleging corruption in the multi crore Rafael jets deal between India and France.

“The goal of Agnipath is to make the Army young, to keep the Army continuously fit for war. Unfortunately, some people have made such a sensitive issue related to national security a subject of politics,” the PM said, claiming that the scheme was also an example of the necessary reforms done by the Army.

‘Rastraniti more important than Rajneeti’

“Some people used to think that the Army means saluting politicians and doing parades but for us, Army means the faith of 140 crore countrymen…Army mane shanti ki guarantee, border ki Suraksha ki guarantee (for us Army means a guarantee of peace and border safety),” the PM said, adding that for his government ‘Rastraniti’ was important than ‘Rajneeti’.

PM Modi lashed out at the allegations that the Agnipath scheme was introduced to relieve the government of the burden of the burgeoning pension outgo. To this, the PM said: “If recruitments are made now, the personnel will retire after 30 years when Modi will be of 105 years and neither will his government be there. So, how can his government be relieved of the pension burden.”

‘Why not same benefits for Agniveers’

Under the Agnipath scheme, youths between the ages of 17 and a half and 21 are eligible to join as Agniveers. Their joining in the Army is subject to clearing written and physical tests and medical examinations. The scheme, effective June 2022, envisions an initial tenure of four years, after which 25% will be retained. Prior to the introduction of the scheme, soldiers were recruited into the armed forces on a 15+ year tenure with lifelong pension. According to reports, From 2019, no recruitment in the armed forces was done for three years. The Centre had cited COVID-19 pandemic as a reason for this. But, reports claim that 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers continued to retire annually, leading to a personnel shortage. The scheme has been widely criticized by the opposition. Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi had slammed the scheme during his election campaign repeatedly. Recently, he wrote to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her intervention to ensure that Agniveers who die in the line of duty receive the same benefits as any other soldier “who makes the highest sacrifice for our motherland”.

‘PM claims defence is now Atmanirbhar’

The PM also claimed that in the past 10 years necessary defence reforms were introduced to make the defence industry self-reliant and ‘Atmanirbhar.’ “India was previously a country which would buy weapons from overseas. Now, we are exporter of weapons. There are 5,000 weapons, which we no longer need to buy it from other countries,” he claimed.