PDP holds protest against Agnipath scheme in Jammu; demands its rollback

Scores of PDP activists started marching towards the Jammu airport from its party headquarters in Gandhi Nagar. However, they were stopped by a large posse of police.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a protest and demanded the immediate rollback of the Agnipath military recruitment scheme on Wednesday.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a protest and demanded the immediate rollback of the Agnipath military recruitment scheme. (PTI)

Scores of PDP activists started marching towards the Jammu airport from its party headquarters in Gandhi Nagar. However, they were stopped by a large posse of police. The participants later returned to the PDP office after staging a peaceful demonstration.

“Our protest is against the Agnipath scheme, which has triggered unrest among the youth in the country and led to street protests and arson. We support the demand of the youth for the immediate rollback of the scheme,” PDP spokesperson Varinder Singh Sonu said.

He accused the central government of implementing various schemes and laws without taking people into confidence. The Agnipath scheme, announced by the government on June 14, proposes to recruit soldiers for the armed forces on a short-term contractual basis. The scheme envisages retiring 75% of the recruits after four years of service without pension and health benefits, but with a payout package of nearly ₹11.70 lakh.