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Bihar: Army aspirants protest, seek withdrawal of Agnipath scheme
A day after the Centre announced the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the short-term induction of soldiers in the armed forces, aspirants on Wednesday resorted to protests at several parts of Bihar, disrupting railway and road traffic in Buxar, Begusarai, Bhojpur, and Muzaffarpur.
A day after the Centre announced the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the short-term induction of soldiers in the armed forces, aspirants on Wednesday resorted to protests at several parts of Bihar, disrupting railway and road traffic in Buxar, Begusarai, Bhojpur, and Muzaffarpur.
The candidates, who were waiting for the recruitment process to be resumed after it was halted in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, said they unhappy with the changes introduced under the new scheme -- particulary the length of service, no pension provisions for those released early, and the 17.5 to 21 age restriction that now makes man of them ineligible.
The Agnipath scheme seeks to recruit personnel, including women, for only four years with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 more years after another round of screening. Those released will get a one-time severance package of ₹ 11.71 lakh but won’t be entitled to pension.
“The physical and medical tests of candidates from eight districts were conducted over two years ago, but the written exam was awaited. The authorities come up with one reason or the other for the delay, while the students continue to suffer,” said one of the aspirants in Muzaffarpur , requesting anonymity.
“The Union ministry of defence should relax the age bar so that those who have spent the last two years waiting should get a fair chance,” said another protesting candidate from Muzaffarpur.
“The common entrance exam should be resumed and Tour of Duty (ToD) should be withdrawn. As there has been two-year delay in exams, the candidates should get that much relaxation. The new scheme of four-year employment is a joke. There is no clarity,” said a thirdcandidate from Buxar.
In Buxar, protesters pelted stones at Patna-bound Pataliputra Express. In Muzaffarpur, aspirants blocked the roads near the railway station, Bhagwanpur Chowk, Madipur Chowk, and Chakkar crossing. Police did not take any action against the protestors and tried to pacify them without using force. No injuries were reported from any place in the state.
Hundreds of protesters blocked NH-31 for two hours in Begusarai, demanding the scrapping of the scheme. In Ara, the district headquarters of Bhojpur, aspirants blocked roads and burnt tyres.
“If the ToD scheme is implemented in armed forces, it will not just be a setback for the lakhs of over-aged youngsters waiting for recruitment, but will also leave the soldiers in quandary once they retire at the age of just 24-25,” said chief spokesperson of organisation Yuva Halla Bol Rishav Ranjan who was also protesting.
The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers this year, the defence ministry said.
Earlier, army recruitment camps were organised by the 13 Zonal Recruiting Office (ZROs) in Bihar. Those selected served for 20 years, and were entitled to pension on retirement.
On Wednesday, the government made two announcement to ally some of the misgivings -- that Agniveers will be given preference in jobs in central forces, and that their in-service training will be considered as education credits for admission to undergraduate programmes.
