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Agnipath: Train services heavily hit amid stir, Bharat Bandh; Army notifies rules | Top points
The Agnipath scheme has sparked widespread violent protests since it was unveiled last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
A Bharat Bandh was observed by some groups, mostly defence aspirants, across the country on Monday against the Centre’s military recruitment drive titled Agnipath, heavily affecting train services across the country. The short-term recruitment model has sparked widespread violent protests since it was unveiled last week by the three service chiefs in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
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While the Bandh passed off easily in Punjab, Bihar and Prayagraj and Agra Zone in Uttar Pradesh, the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) saw huge traffic jams on key routes.
The nationwide shutdown came a day after top military officers held a press conference over Agnipath where they said the scheme will not be rolled back - a key demand raised by protesters as well as opposition parties.
Here are some of the top points:
> The Railways said more than 600 trains were affected due to the ongoing agitation. Issuing a statement, it said that of the 612 trains affected, 602 trains were cancelled, including 223 mail and express trains and 379 passenger trains. Four mail and express trains and six passenger trains were partially cancelled, it added.
> Owners and operators of army recruitment coaching centres across Uttar Pradesh have come under the scanner. The action comes after 11 coaching centre operators in Aligarh were arrested for allegedly being involved in provoking students for violent protests against the scheme. SImilar drives have already been launched in states like Telangana and Bihar.
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> The Army also issued a notification for the recruitment of Agniveers under the scheme which gave information regarding pay package, conditions of service, eligibility etc.
> Two districts in Haryana - Mahendragarh and Jhajjar - have been ordered to close all private coaching institutions in the wake of violent agitations. Section 144 has also been imposed in these two districts.
> In Noida, around 30 people, including Congress leaders and workers were detained while they were moving towards Delhi to participate in protests, news agency PTI reported on Monday citing officials.
> On Monday evening, senior Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, P Chidambaram and KC Venugopal, met President Ram Nath Kovind and discussed the Agnipath scheme. Kharge said that Kovind was informed the scheme was neither discussed with any committee nor was presented in Parliament which is a violation of democratic rights.
> In Bihar, BJP MLA Harishbhushan Thakur Bachhaul alleged that “jihadis are behind the violence and arson” that took place in the anti-Agnipath protests in the state over the past few days. “Why have there been no incidents in the past couple of days? The violence that took place earlier can certainly be blamed on the utterances of the big leaders who owe their standing to the benediction (kripa) of (chief minister) Nitish Kumar. Jihadi elements opposed to Modi were involved in violence and they felt they had the backing of these leaders”, Bachhaul told PTI on Monday.
> Schools across Jharkhand were shut on Monday and 5,000 security personnel were deployed in the state, and there was no untoward incident reported.
> Anti-Agnipath protests rocked Jammu during the day and several people were detained. Police had tightened security across the city and warned of strict action against those trying to disrupt the law and order.
