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Reconsider Agnipath scheme: Mayawati to Centre
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday reiterated her demand that the Centre rethink its recently announced Agnipath recruitment scheme
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday reiterated her demand that the Centre rethink its recently announced Agnipath recruitment scheme. She also said the Centre should take Parliament into confidence before announcing such decisions that impact national security while urging the youth to exercise restraint.
“I would request the Centre to spare a serious thought for the aggrieved youth of the country and reconsider its decision. Also, I feel that on such issues that impact national security, the Centre must take the Parliament into confidence. I would simultaneously also call upon the youths to exercise restraint,” she tweeted.
This is the second time that Mayawati has demanded the Centre to reconsider its decision on Agnipath—a recruitment scheme that offers four years of job to the youth in the armed forces.
The youth selected under this scheme would be called ‘Agniveers’. The state’s main opposition Samajwadi Party, the Congress as well as other opposition parties have already opposed the scheme.
“At a time when barring a handful, most of the youth are plagued with the ‘Agnipath’ of poverty, inflation and tension, the Centre’s limited offer military recruitment scheme has made the youth disappointed,” Mayawati tweeted.
“Rural youths feel cheated today due to Centre limiting the recruitment of youths in railways, army and para military forces. They are angry as they discover their prospects bleak. This needs to be tackled correctly,” she added.
On June 16 too, Mayawati had made a series of tweets advising the Centre for a rethink on the offer that ruling party leaders have been hailing as “pathbreaking”. Protests against the recruitment scheme have been reported from several parts of the state. At many places, these protests have also turned violent. Police have made several arrests in this connection.
