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Agnipath: PM Modi holds talks with three service chiefs at his residence
Agnipath protests: The Agnipath scheme was launched last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh. Soon after, violent protests were witnessed in several parts of the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with the three service chiefs at his residence on Tuesday in the wake of widespread protests over the newly launched Agnipath scheme, a contractual recruitment model into the defence forces.
Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar reportedly met the PM separately for about half an hour each. There is no word out yet on what was discussed at
The meeting took place shortly after the defence ministry held the second press briefing since Sunday to assuage the fears of the protesting youth, mostly defence aspirants, regarding the short-term nature of the scheme. The Agnipath scheme was launched last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
Soon after, violent protests were witnessed in several parts of the country, Bihar being the worst-hit, with several trains being set ablaze besides damage being caused to other public property.
The government has said it will not rollback the Agnipath scheme and all applicants would have have to pledge that they did not take part in any violence or arson. Singh has also held two meetings with the service in the last few days.
A day ago, the Prime Minister said at an event in Bengaluru that many decisions and reforms may seem unpleasant, but the path shall take the country to new milestones. The PM, however, did not refer to the ongoing protests or the scheme during his speech at a programme in Bengaluru.
