BJP's Kailash Vijayvargiya accuses ‘toolkit gang’ of distorting his statement on 'Agniveers'
Issuing a ‘clarification’ on his original remark, the senior party leader, in a tweet, said what he meant was that after completing their tenure with the army, wherever the Agniveers go, their excellence would be utilised there.
Senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Sunday accused the ‘toolkit gang’ of distorting his comments after a video, in which he is seen saying he would give preference to ‘Agniveers’ if he had to hire someone to keep his party's office safe, went viral on social media.
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“After graduating under the Agnipath scheme, the Aginveers will be well-trained and dedicated to their duty. After completing their tenure with the army, wherever they go, their excellence would be utilised there. That is exactly what I meant,” Vijayvargiya wrote on Twitter, tweeting in Hindi.
“Those associated with a toolkit are distorting my remarks in a bid to insult the Agniveers. The nation is well aware of the conspiracies being hatched by this toolkit gang against national and religious heroes,” the BJP's national general secretary added.
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The sixty-six year-old leader's ‘clarification’ came after opposition parties accused him of insulting the country's youth and the army.
“When an Agniveer gets military training and leaves the service after four years, he will get ₹11 lakh, as well as a badge of Agniveer. If I have to hire for security to BJP's office, I will prefer an Agniveer,” Vijayvargiya says in the viral clip.
Under the radical ‘Agnipath’ scheme, rolled out on Tuesday, recruits will join the armed forces for a duration of four years, and will be called ‘Agniveers’. After this period, one-fourth will be retained for longer service, while the remaining will be relieved.
Also Read | No rollback of Agnipath scheme, all concessions pre-planned: Defence ministry
The 75 per cent recruits will, in turn, get 10 per cent reservation each for posts under the Union home and defence ministries. In addition, for the first batch, the central government has given a ‘one-time’ waiver, extending the upper age limit to 23 from the originally announced 21.
Also Read | Will armed forces accept anti-Agnipath vandals? Top official responds
The lower age limit, however, continues to be 17.5 years.
