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Amid protests, Uttarakhand CM assures priority to Agniveers in state services
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami maintained that the Centre’s Agnipath scheme will give employment to the youngsters on a large scale and said the state government will give priority to Agniveers in many services including police
Army aspirants and youngsters staged protests and blocked traffic in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district on Thursday against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for short-term induction of soldiers in the armed forces alleging that it will increase unemployment even as chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami maintained that the scheme will give employment to the youngsters on a large scale and said the state government will give priority to Agniveers in many services including police.
The Union government’s cabinet committee on security cleared the Agnipath scheme on Tuesday to recruit youngsters of age between 17-and-a-half years and 21 years to the Armed Forces for four years with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 more years after another round of screening. However, a large number of army aspirants since then have come out on the streets in several parts of the country protesting against the scheme.
The protestors in Pithoragarh blocked the traffic in the town on Thursday. Senior officials of the district administration and police reached the spot and pacified the protesters, following which traffic blockade could be removed. After that, the protesters staged a protest rally in the town and held a massive demonstration in front of the collectorate office, demanding immediate rollback of the Agnipath scheme.
They submitted a memorandum to the government through the administration, demanding withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme. Expressing strong resentment over the cancellation of the written examination of army recruitment conducted earlier, the protestors also demanded that the written examination should be conducted at the earliest.
“This scheme will overall increase unemployment in the hilly state as most youth won’t have anything to do after serving in army for four years,” said Rishendra Singh Mahar, a student leader in Pithoragarh.
Manish Chand, an army aspirant from Bisabajer village, who had come to Pithoragarh town to join the protests, said, “The Modi government is taking away our main employment source. Most of the youth in our state aspire to be in the army. There are no major employment avenues here and agriculture is not very profitable due to hilly terrain.”
“The youngsters held the protest peacefully but due to their protest the traffic was blocked for some time and there were traffic jams in the area,” said Sundar Singh, sub-divisional magistrate Pithoragarh.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Congress also lashed out at the government, demanding rollback of Agnipath scheme, failing which, it will start state-wide agitation.
Suryakant Dhasmana, senior vice president Uttarakhand Congress, said the Agnipath scheme will have the biggest impact in Uttarakhand as a large number of youngsters from the state join the Army.
Dhasmana said the decision to recruit youngsters for only four years is a blatant deception not only with the youngsters but also with the armed forces. “By joining the military force at the age of 17-18 years and retiring at 21-22 years, the government is not giving any guarantee about what the youth will do in the rest of their lives. It is being said that these Agniveers will get opportunities in other fields, whereas the truth is that today unemployment in the country is at its highest level in 75 years”, he said, adding, “If the scheme is not rolled back, we will start a state-wide agitation soon”.
Meanwhile, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a press conference at Vidhan Sabha on the Agnipath scheme. Dhami said the state government has decided that after the service to nation under the Agnipath scheme, the state government will give priority to the Agniveers in many services including police, disaster management, Char Dham yatra management, adding that the rules regarding the same will be formulated soon.
“Our government is fully committed to the all-round development of the youth of the state and providing them employment opportunities and we will continue to strive in this direction,” he said.
The chief minister said that the youth of the state will become Agniveers and bring laurels to the nation and the state and hoist the flag of their valour in all four directions.
Dhami said the scheme will not only give employment to the youth of the country on a large scale, but “our forces will also be more youthful and empowered”.
The chief minister said that Uttarakhand is known as the state of heroes. He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of 1.25 crore people of the state for the Agnipath scheme. “Being a soldier’s son, I am also feeling proud that I will get an opportunity to implement this scheme in Uttarakhand as a chief servant. Under this scheme, the youth of 17 years to 21 years will be recruited in the army and it will start in the next 90 days,” he added.
The chief minister said that this scheme is going to be very beneficial for the youth of Uttarakhand who dream of joining the army. “After the announcement of this scheme, I am getting messages from youths from different parts of the state, in which they have expressed their gratitude to the Prime Minister for this unique effort towards the service of the nation. The youth of the country is very excited about this scheme”.
“The connection of Uttarakhand with the army is well known. The history of the Indian Army is filled with the valorous stories of our brave soldiers. Some brave soldier from every house here is definitely serving in the Indian Army,” he said.
