Agnipath Scheme Protest continues: Trains are disrupted in Bihar

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In the wake of the “Agnipath Scheme” recruitment process, the country is protesting badly. The statement given by Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh about the appointment of new CDS leads to the break out of the protest.

Agnipath Scheme is carried out to benefit the youth as it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to serve the nation. The scheme has been announced by the Central Government and it is supposed to come into play immediately. The candidates recruited under the scheme will be regarded as “Agniveers”.

The protest started in Bihar on the very next day after the announcement. The protest in Bihar lead to the disruption of trains and road traffic. The police released tear gas shells for the dispersion of the individuals. Due to the ongoing protest, almost 22 trains were cancelled and few of the running trains were stooped in the middle of the journey as per the East Central Railway officials.

The protesters want the old system to be restored in the defence services. In places like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha, trains were disrupted and set on fire. Many railway stations were attacked. Even the opposition party has criticised the Agnipath Scheme.

The concern of protestors is that the announcement of the scheme states that only 25% of the recruits could get a regular commission in the service and the other 75% will be left jobless. People are sitting on the railway tracks in Jehanabad and are throwing stones at the police and public whiles disrupting the movement of many trains. Protestors in Buxar district and Mujjafarnagar are shouting slogans “Bharti Do ya Arthi do” meaning either recruit us or get us killed.

The people are disappointed as they are concerned about what will they do after 4 years of the job under the Agnipath scheme. This is the reason of the jamming of roads, the disruption of trains.

Steps taken by the Government

The Central Government has called the program “historic” while announcing that approximately 45000 soldiers would be put into the defence service on a short-term basis. This will eventually lead to a younger appearance of the armed forces as well as reduce the cost of pensions and salaries cost to the government.

Due to the violent protest in the country, the government has relaxed the upper limit of age from 21 to 23. The government also mentioned in defence of its policy that the youth who will be recruited be given financial aid, once they retire after four years.