PM Modi ‘betrayed’ youth by ‘forcibly’ imposing Agnipath scheme: Rahul Gandhi

PTI, May 26, 2024, 11:10 AM IST

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “betrayed” the youth dreaming of serving the country by “forcibly” imposing the Agnipath scheme and asserted that an INDIA bloc government will ensure justice for them.

Gandhi shared a video of his recent interaction on a tempo with some youth, who wanted to join the armed forces but could not do so because of the Agnipath scheme being introduced.

In a post on X in Hindi along with the video, the former Congress chief said that while travelling on a ‘Deshbhakti Ka Tempo’, he got to know closely about the sufferings of the youth.

“Narendra Modi has betrayed the youth who dream of serving the country in the army and has forcibly imposed the Agnipath scheme on them,” he said.

Gandhi said justice will be ensured for the brave youth under an INDIA bloc government.

“We will not let their dreams be shattered,” he said.

In the video, the youth travelling with Gandhi told him that they were on the verge of getting recruited in the armed forces but were left out due to the Agnipath scheme.

They also told him that some of their friends preparing for recruitment in the armed forces had committed suicide. They claimed that they had been threatened against protesting the government move.

The Congress has promised that it will scrap the Agnipath scheme if it comes to power.

The government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme in June 2022 for short-term induction of personnel with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three services.

The scheme provides for recruiting youngsters in the age bracket of 17 years and a half to 21 years for a four-year period, with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.