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Varun Gandhi extends ‘good wishes’ to party colleague for Agniveer-guard comment
Gandhi has been critical of the Agnipath scheme meant for recruitment into their military service for four years.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi on Sunday took a dig at his colleague Kailash Vijayvargiya over the latter’s remark that Agniveers, recruits of the Centre’s newly unveiled Agnipath scheme, will be given priority to be hired as security guards at the saffron party's offices.
Also Read| Agniveer to get priority for security of BJP offices, says Kailash Vijayvargiya, triggers row
Taking to Twitter, the BJP MP said serving in the defence forces is not just about a job but a medium of service to the motherland.
“The great military’s tales cannot be recounted by an entire dictionary…its valour resonates across the world… If a soldier of this military gets an invitation to do 'chowkidaari' (security guard’s duty) of a political office, best wishes to the person who sent out the invitation in the first place,” read Gandhi’s tweet, loosely translated from Hindi.
Gandhi has been critical of the Agnipath scheme meant for recruitment into their military service for four years.
On Saturday, the BJP MP from Pilbhit took a swipe at the Centre by saying that amendments made to the scheme within a few hours of its launch show that in all likelihood, all the points were not considered while planning this model.
Meanwhile, the comments of Vijayvargiya, who is the BJP’s national general secretary, about giving priority to Agniveers as security jobs at party offices have sparked strong criticism from opposition parties, starting from the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Shiv Sena.
Also Read| Kailash Vijayvargiya says Agniveers can get security jobs at BJP offices, Kejriwal, others hit back
Taking to Twitter, AAP's national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal asked Vijayvargiya to not disrespect the youth and the military personnel of this country.
The Congress tweeted “BJP's Kailash Vijayvargiya cleared all doubts about the Agnipath scheme.” Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that such remarks trivialised the importance of those in uniform.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi said, “Is this the dignity Modi’s party assigns to soldiers and soldiering, which is a profession of honour?”
Also Read| BJP's Vijayvargiya says ‘toolkit gang’ distorting his statement on ‘Agniveers’
Amid the criticism, Vijayvargiya said his remarks were distorted, adding that after graduating under the Agnipath scheme, Aginveers will be well-trained and dedicated to their duty and after the completion of their tenure, their excellence will be utilised in whichever field they go.
