Lok Sabha elections 2024: Agnipath scheme 'insult' to youth who dream of protecting country, says Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Hitting out at the Modi government over the Agnipath military recruitment scheme, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday alleged that this scheme was formulated in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office and imposed on the armed forces.

Gandhi said that as soon as the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's government is formed at the Centre, the Agnipath military scheme will be scrapped and the old permanent recruitment process be brought back.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "The Agnipath scheme is an insult to the Indian Army and the brave youth who dream of protecting the country. This is not a scheme of the Indian Army but a scheme that was formulated in Narendra Modi's office which has been imposed on the Army." "Martyrs cannot be treated differently, every person who makes the supreme sacrifice for the country should be given the status of a martyr," he said.

"As soon as the I.N.D.I.A. government is formed, we will immediately scrap this scheme and bring back the old permanent recruitment process," the former Congress chief said.

In June 2022, the Centre rolled out the Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of personnel into the armed forces 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.