Agnipath protest: Kejriwal says demands of protesters rightful, 'Why 4 years?'

After Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati, Delhi chief minister Kejriwal lent support to the youth protesting in Bihar and Haryana against the Centre's Agnipath scheme in which youngsters will be recruited into Army, Navy, and Air Force in 4-year contracts.

The demand of the youth protesting against the Centre's newly announced Agnipath scheme is justified, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted on Thursday as Bihar witnessed violent protests. Joining voiced with several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal said it is not right to keep the dreams of the youth of the country tied to only four years.

Kejriwal on Thursday extended support to those protesting against Centre's Agnipath recruitment scheme. 

"The central government's new scheme in army recruitment is being opposed everywhere in the country. Young people are very angry. His demands are just right. The Army is the pride of our country, our youth want to give their whole life to the country, don't keep their dreams tied in 4 years," Kejriwal tweeted.

Appealing to the Centre to give a chance to those who have become overage as there was no recruitment in the Army in the last two years, Kejriwal said the youth should be given a chance to serve the country for their whole life and not just four years.

Follow live updates of Agnipath protests

Rahul Gandhi on Thursday urged PM Modi to not nake 'agnipareeksha' in the name of the Agnipath scheme. "No rank, no pension, no direct recruitment for 2 years, no stable future after four years, no respect shown by the government for the army," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Agnipath was launched on Tuesday as a transformative recruitment drive for the Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force. In this scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years into the three services in a contract for four years. After four years, 25% of the specific batch will be retained according to requirements and policies and the rest will be given an advantage in other jobs, further studies etc.

Thousands of youth took to the streets on Thursday against Agnipath. In Bihar, trains were set on fire, buses were smashed and train routes like Patna-Gaya, Barauni-Katihar and Danapur-DDU witnessed massive disruption.