Jul 26, 2024 03:31 PM IST
The response came after PM Modi targeted the Opposition for its criticism of the Agnipath scheme and accused them of attempting to weaken the Army.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of doing ‘petty politics’ on Kargil Vijay Diwas.
Kharge’s criticism comes hours after Modi, during an address at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, targeted the Opposition for its criticism of the Agnipath scheme and accused them of attempting to weaken the Army.
“It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas,” Kharge wrote on X. “No Prime Minister has ever done this before.”
Kharge added that the prime minister’s claim that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army “is a blatant lie” and an “unforgivable insult to our valiant Armed Forces”.
“Modi ji, it is you who are spreading LIES! Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and 25% of people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces,” Kharge wrote.
“According to news reports, Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt, has stalled from being published, has also said, that the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a “bolt out of the blue”!” he added.
Also Read | PM Modi defends Agnipath scheme, says it aims to rejuvenate armed forces
Further, Kharge pointed out that several retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering the national security and aspirations of the youth from rural backgrounds.
He added that the former officers have been demanding that the Agnipath scheme should be completely scrapped.
“All this is on record. Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no liberalized family pension and no education allowance for their children,” Kharge added.
Also Read | Agniveer among three held for carjacking in Mohali
Announced in June 2022, the Agnipath scheme recruits personnel to the Indian armed forces for a short period of four years. At the end of four years, up to 25% of recruits, called Agniveers, join the services on a permanent commission (15 more years) subject to merit and other requirements.
What PM Modi said
In his address at the Kargil War Memorial in Drass, Modi attacked the Opposition for criticising the Agnipath scheme, saying that they are trying to mislead the youth of the country. “This shows that they do not care about the soldiers,” the prime minister said.
“These are the same people who lied about One Rank One Pension. It is our government that implemented One Rank One Pension, and gave more than ₹1.25 lakh crore to ex-servicemen. These are the same people who did not build a war memorial…These are the same people who did not provide adequate bulletproof jackets to our soldiers deployed on the border. These are the people who tried to weaken our army,” Modi said.
He also launched a fiery attack at Pakistan saying that the neighbouring country “has not learnt anything from history.” He said, “Pakistan has failed in all its nefarious attempts in the past. But Pakistan has not learned anything from its history. It is trying to keep itself relevant with the help of terrorism and proxy war.”
