Centre refutes Opposition’s ‘caste, religion’ allegations over Agnipath scheme

Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday refuted allegations by the Opposition that the recruitment process under the Agnipath scheme requires aspirants to furnish their caste and religion certificates, terming the claims as “rumours” and that there has been no change in the process.

“It’s just a rumour. The system, existing since the pre-independence era, is still the same. No change has been made. The old system is being continued,” Singh clarified.

Earlier, the Indian Army said that the matter, requiring caste and religion certificates, was always there and there has been no change for the Agnipath scheme.

“The requirement for aspirants to submit caste certificates and if required, religion certificates have always been there. There has not been any change to the Agniveer recruitment scheme in this regard,” the army said, adding that “religion is also required for performing last rites as per religious rituals for recruits who die during training and soldiers who die in harness.”

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Earlier today, Aam Admi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh accused the Centre of asking for caste and religion certificates to apply for army recruitments under the Angnipath scheme, and also shared a screenshot of the recently released recruitment notification by the Indian Army.

“Does Modi ji not consider Dalits, backward, tribals eligible for army recruitment? For the first time in the history of India, caste is being asked in ‘army recruitment’. Modi ji you want to create ‘Agniveer’ or ‘Jaativeer’,” the AAP leader claimed.

Janata Dal (United) leader Upendra Kushwaha raised the issue by asking the Centre about reasons for furnishing caste certificates if the government is not providing reservations under the Agnipath scheme.

“I am surprised with the caste certificate requirement for the recruitment of Agniveers in the defence forces. There is no provision of reservation in the Agnipath scheme, there why are they demanding caste certificates?” he asked.

Rejecting the Opposition’s claims, Union minister Anurag Thakur said political parties such as AAP are trying to mislead the youth. “Recruitments are done as per Army Rules 1954 and Defence Service Regulation 1987. Parties like AAP try to mislead. No changes...details same as collected earlier,” he said.