Priyanka writes to Rajanth Singh, flags delays in armed forces recruitment

PTI, Mar 29, 2022, 12:53 PM IST

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday wrote to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over ”delays” in the armed forces recruitment and urged him to take necessary steps to ensure that the hard work of aspirants is respected.

In her letter, the Congress general secretary said it is the dream of the youth to serve the country by joining the armed forces for which lakhs of them prepare with hard work. ”Youth from all over the country have tried to draw your and the government’s attention towards some important points related to the recruitment results, delay in recruitment and recruitment rallies for the armed forces,” she said.

Flagging the problems being faced by the youth in armed forces recruitment, Gandhi said the examination for the recruitment of soldiers in the Air Force was held in November 2020 with its result out in the same month but despite the completion of all the tests and the provisional selection list being out, the enrollment list has not been released yet. The youth associated with this recruitment say that the date of issuance of the enrollment list is being extended again and again, she said, urging the defence minister to ensure that the final list is put out immediately.

Besides this, another examination of the recruitment of soldiers in the Air Force was held in July 2021 in which lakhs of youth took part, its results were to be out in August 2021, but it has not been released till now, she said.

The results of July 2021 recruitment should be out and further process of recruitment must be started soon, she said in her letter to Singh.

Gandhi pointed out that lakhs of youth are preparing for armed forces recruitment through regular exercise and other means, but the recruitment has not happened for many years. ”The youth preparing for armed forces recruitment are worried.To fill lakhs of vacant posts in the armed forces, recruitment should be done without delay and recruitment rallies should be organised at all recruitment centres,” the Congress leader said.

Due to armed forces recruitment not happening for a long time and the delay in appointments, many eligible youth are losing years and therefore, candidates should be given an age relaxation of two years in the age limit for armed forces recruitment.

In a reply in Lok Sabha in December 2021, the government had talked about 1.25 lakh vacancies in the armed forces, she said.

On the one hand, lakhs of posts are lying vacant in the armed forces, and on the other lakhs of youth are disappointed even after working hard due to the delay in the results and processes of recruitment, Gandhi said.

She urged the defence minister to take cognisance of the issues and take necessary steps without delay, so that the hard work of the youth preparing for armed forces recruitment is respected and their problems resolved.