Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 21: Amidst continuing protest demonstrations against the government contractual army recruitment scheme “Agnipath,” the Chiefs of the three Indian defence services met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence on Tuesday evening.
The Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar reportedly met the PM jointly and then separately for about half an hour each. There is no word out yet on what transpired at the meeting.
The meeting with the prime minister took place shortly after the defence ministry held a press briefing, second since Sunday, to assuage the fears of the protesting youth, mostly defence aspirants, regarding the short-term nature of the scheme and to convince the protesters that “Agnipath” was not a stand-alone scheme and it would be easier for the retrenched “Agniveers” to secure an alternate job. The Agnipath scheme was launched last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The three service chiefs had also over the past week issued statements to allay the apprehension of the anxious youths. Modi, too, while not expressly naming the scheme, has said, “Several decisions look unfair at present but in time, those decisions will help in nation-building.” He has also said it was India’s “misfortune” that “many good things brought with good intentions get trapped in political colours.”
The government continued defending the scheme on Tuesday, deploying National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, who ruled out roll-back in spite of protest.
Doval argued, “We are going toward contactless wars. Technology is taking over… If we have to prepare for tomorrow, then we cannot do things like we did in the past. India has among the youngest populations in the world, so our armed forces cannot continue to have an average age that is among the highest in the world.”
Speaking about the future of the retrenched Agniveers after four years, he asserted that the age of “settling down” is around 25-26 now. “People are speaking of one life-two careers, even three careers now. When recruits from the first batch of Agniveers retire, India will be 5-trillion-dollar economy; industry will need people who have age on their side. These men and women will still be young and won’t have family compulsions.”
The NSA said it was “injustice” when the soldier was earlier released only after 15 years. “At that time, the soldier could go back to the village, till the land and live on pension. Now the scenario has changed.”
He reacted to recent statements that Agniveers will be good plumbers and guards after four years. “We are talking about 22-23-year-olds with army service; compare them with anyone else their age — these Agniveers will have discipline, skills, and will be highly trainable… No avenue is debarred for them. They will have ₹ 11 lakh, with which they can even study further.” He cited reservations in other government services, including police forces, announced so far.
Several opposition parties, including the Congress, have dubbed “Agnipath” the latest blunder of the government, part of a series that includes the 2016 demonetisation of high-value currency notes and the farm laws that had to be repealed after a long protest.