The Bharatiya Janata Party's key ally, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), has called for a review of the Centre's Agniveer scheme for recruitment to defence forces. This comes as Lok Sabha election results declared on Wednesday have restricted the BJP to just 240 seats, 32 seats short of majority to form government on its own under Narendra Modi.
JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi said, “A section of voters has been upset over the Agniveer scheme. Our party wants those shortcomings questioned by the public to be discussed in detail and removed,” ANI reported.
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Tyagi said his party is not against the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). " As the party's national president, the CM had written to the Law Commission chief about the UCC. We are not against it, but a solution should be found by talking to all stakeholders.
However, the senior JD(U) reiterated his support for caste-based census and also demanded special status in Bihar.
"No party in the country has said no to caste-based census. Bihar has shown the path. PM, too, didn't oppose it in the all-party delegation. The caste-based census is the call of the hour. We will pursue it."
{{/usCountry}}"No party in the country has said no to caste-based census. Bihar has shown the path. PM, too, didn't oppose it in the all-party delegation. The caste-based census is the call of the hour. We will pursue it."
{{/usCountry}}He also said, "There is no precondition. There is unconditional support. But Bihar's being given the special status is something that we have in our hearts.
The INDIA bloc, in its election promise, condemned the Agniveer scheme and vowed to scrap it if elected. Earlier this month, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to President Droupadi Murmu urging intervention in the Agnipath scheme to address what he called "discrimination" in benefits provided to the families of deceased soldiers.
The opposition has also banked on the demand for a caste-based census and Bihar also conducted it while Nitish Kumar was chief minister under Mahagathbandhan government.
The Agnipath scheme recruits youngsters aged 17 and a half to 21 for a four-year term, with an option to retain 25 per cent of them for an additional 15 years.
The government has consistently backed the scheme, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah strongly supporting it for “its attractiveness to youth as it guarantees a full-term job after their four-year service in the armed forces.”
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General Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), said it is significant in nurturing a young and dynamic military profile. He said the scheme contributes to nation-building by cultivating skilled, disciplined, and motivated youth.
On Wednesday, Narendra Modi and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders convened with leaders from the National Democratic Alliance, marking their first meeting since the alliance secured a Lok Sabha majority. Reaffirming their confidence in Modi, the NDA leaders selected him as the alliance's leader, paving the path for his third consecutive term as prime minister.
With 12 MPs, the JD(U) is the second biggest BJP ally after the Telugu Desam Party's 16. On Wednesday, the NDA partners adopted a three-paragraph resolution in Hindi, saying they elected Modi as “our leader”.
During the NDA meeting, Nitish Kumar coaxed Modi to act fast on government formation. On the other hand, TDP chief Naidu said saying winning the polls three times in a row was not an ordinary event.