Reforms in defence shouldn’t be at the cost of opportunities for youth: Congress
Congress leader Manvendra Singh alleged that over 50,000 of India’s youth who cleared the selection process in the Indian Army recruitment drive have been “deceived”
Pecking on the controversy surrounding the central government’s new ‘Agnipath’ scheme in the defence sector, the Congress party on Friday said that reforms in the armed forces have to be transparent and not “imposed surreptitiously” at a cost of opportunities for the youth.
“There will be two kinds of soldiers recruited in a unit in the Agnipath scheme – the current recruits that enjoy all benefits, including leaves, medical and education, and the new prospective ‘Agniveers’ who will be deprived of all such benefits including relatively low salary packages,” Congress leader Manvendra Singh said at a press conference in the national capital today.
“This disparity will build a disproportion of confidence among them and impact the cohesion within the unit,” Singh, who was a Colonel in the Territorial Army before entering politics, said.
He is also the son of former defence minister of India and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Late Jaswant Singh.
The Congress leader alleged that over 50,000 of India’s youth who cleared the selection process in the Indian Army recruitment drive, except for the written examination, have been “deceived” as they have to “reapply” under the new ‘Agnipath’ scheme.
“Difference of pay, perks and allowances between two soldiers doing the same duties will create a dangerous situation and a sure disaster,” he said.
Also read:Agnipath Scheme 2022: Indian Army to recruit Angiveers from July, details here
Commenting on the delay in the appointment of a new chief of defence staff following the tragic death of India’s first CDS General Bipin Rawat, Manvendra Singh said the central government lacks confidence in the current defence chiefs and therefore has been expanding the pool of candidates.
“The fact that the selection pool was increased means that there’s lack of confidence (on the current defence chiefs), or the government wants to conduct a deep selection process to find a suitable like-minded CDS,” he added.