Protests have escalated against 'Agnipath', the Centre's radical recruitment scheme for the armed forces, as it entered the third day today. Mobs set trains on fire in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Telangana, resulting in cancellation of several rail services across the country. Meanwhile, internet services have been suspended in 12 districts of Bihar and three districts in Haryana.
The government unveiled the Agnipath scheme on Tuesday -- calling it a "transformative" scheme-- for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis. The age limit for Agnipath recruitment has now been raised to 23 from 21 as a one-time waiver following the protests.
Here are the Highlights on 'Agnipath' Protests:
Protests against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme continued on Friday as scores of youngsters descended on the Yamuna Expressway and blocked traffic movement briefly, prompting Gautam Buddh Nagar police to lodge an FIR against 225 protesters and arresting 10, officials said. They said eight police personnel and a driver of a privately-run bus suffered injuries in violence during the protest in Jewar area of the district, adjoining Delhi in western Uttar Pradesh. (PTI)
The Railways cancelled 234 trains while 340 trains have been affected so far due to protests against the Agnipath scheme, the Railways said. It said 94 mail and express trains and 140 passenger trains were cancelled due to the protests, while 65 mail and express and 30 passenger trains were partially cancelled. The Railways has also diverted 11 mail and express trains. The total number of trains affected so far stands at 340, officials said. Coaches of seven trains have been set on fire by protesters, officials said, (PTI)
The situation is now peaceful in Aligarh and flag march has been conducted, said police as violent protests erupted earlier in the day against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme. The Tappal region has been divided into four zones and eight sectors, a senior official said. Additional police forces have also been deployed and 10 teams have been operationalised to make arrests. The police said they have taken 30 suspects into custody and they are being interrogated.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has said that the protests across the country are proof that the youth of country will never accept the 'Agnipath' defence recruitment scheme. "Every youth has the right to join the Army and dedicate their whole life for the country, but today the BJP is depriving them of this right. The demonstrations happening across the country are clear proof that the youth of India will never accept Agnipath. No policy or law can be greater than the passion for service to the nation," Mr Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi.
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Working President and Minister for IT and Industries KT Rama Rao has demanded the Centre to review the 'Agnipath' scheme, alleging that the NDA government has taken a unilateral decision on it. In a statement, the minister alleged that the scheme is "killing" the aspirations of millions of youth who want to join the armed forces and serve the nation.
Internet services will remain temporarily suspended in Kaimer, Bhojpur, Aurangabad, Rohtas, Buxer, Nawada, West Champaran, Samastipur, Lakhisarai, Begusarai, Vaishali and Saran districts from today till 19th June: Bihar govt pic.twitter.com/H9fBtp9vxh
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022
Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has appealed to the Centre to drop the Agnipath scheme of recruiting military personnel as 'Agniveers' for a term of four years in the wake of violent protests in parts of the country by aspirants seeking to join the armed forces. In a series of tweets, he said the government should not play with the security forces to cover up the government's bankruptcy. (PTI)
As violent protests against the 'Agnipath' defence recruitment scheme rocked several states, Union minister and BJP leader Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday said some political parties were trying to "mislead" youths over the issue. He said the scheme was a major reform in the recruitment process in defence forces which has been implemented after 75 years of Independence. (PTI)
Activists of several student groups, including the left-affiliated AISA, staged a protest in Delhi today against Agnipath recruitment scheme, and termed it "disastrous". The All India Students' Association said the scheme is nothing but a design to destroy permanent jobs in the armed forces. Both AISA and Students' Federation of India (SFI) alleged that several of their members were "brutally detained". (PTI)
Amid widespread protests against the 'Agnipath' defence recruitment scheme in Bihar, BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh today blamed the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for arson and violence, and said the Opposition party will have to answer for its actions. He also urged state governments to identify non-students in the protests and alleged that some political parties have been using students as shield to destroy public assets. "Biharis are dying in RJD's angry protests in which public properties are also being burnt. The RJD will have to answer to Bihar," said Mr Singh, an MP from Begusarai.
Amid violent protests in parts of the country over the 'Agnipath' scheme, Union minister and former Army chief General V K Singh (retd) on Friday accused the opposition parties of creating a controversy over the recruitment plan by "provoking" people. Since the Opposition has nothing else to do, it is stoking a controversy over the scheme even before its implementation has started, he alleged.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has questioned the BJP-led Union government's intention in rolling out the 'Agnipath' scheme for military recruitment and asked why it was playing with the security of the country and the future of the youth. Demanding its immediate withdrawal, the Chief Minister said youths, trained in weapons, could indulge in criminal activities when they become jobless after completion of their four-year tenure as part of the scheme. (PTI)
Haryana govt orders suspension of mobile internet services, all SMS services in view of potential law and order situation in the wake of new army recruitment policy. Order shall be in force for next 24 hours with immediate effect i.e. till 16:30 hours (tomorrow) pic.twitter.com/eoMsa9HQgx
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022
Congress General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal has written to the Chairman of Standing Committee on Defence to convene an urgent meeting of the Committee to discuss and deliberate upon 'Agnipath', the Centre's radical recruitment scheme for the armed forces.
Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal's residence in Bettiah town was vandalised on Friday during protests against the Agnipath army recruitment scheme, the second such incident of attack on senior party leaders' houses in the state during the day. Read here
Amid protests over the Centre's 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme, 157 train services were affected over the last two days, said sources in the Railway ministry. As many as 110 trains were cancelled, including 38 mail and express trains and 72 passenger trains. Besides, 47 trains were partially cancelled. Incidents of trains being set on fire were reported from 11 places including Samastipur and Lakhisarai, the sources said.
At least 5,000 agitators reportedly entered a railway station in Secunderabad and tried to set fire to a coach of a passenger train that had nearly 40 occupants inside. The passengers, some of them children, were saved with timely action by railway staff, who helped them move to an adjoining coach. Watch the video here.
Protesters vandalised a police outpost in Aligarh today as demonstrations against the 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme for the armed forces spread to several states in the country. Vehicles were set on fire and stones were thrown at the police personnel.
Train services on the Sealdah-Bangaon route in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district were disrupted for a brief period on Friday morning as a group of students held a demonstration on railway tracks protesting against the Centre's newly introduced 'Agnipath' scheme for recruitment in defence services, news agency PTI reported citing officials said.
#NewsAlert | Violent protests broke out in Varanasi over the Centre's #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 17, 2022
NDTV's Alok Pandey reports from a bus depot in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh pic.twitter.com/Km1HPrF3BY
#Agnipath Protests | Protestors torch the Islampur - Hatia Express at Nalanda's Islampur railway station; 3 AC coaches burnt to ashes, several coaches damaged pic.twitter.com/D0Uq1dswfe
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 17, 2022
Training Of First 'Agniveers' To Begin In December 2022: Indian Army Chief https://t.co/VcWIHGeCaQ pic.twitter.com/VI70nhCkfU
- NDTV (@ndtv) June 17, 2022
The protests against Centres 'Agnipath' scheme have spread to more parts of the country. After Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have reported violent protests. Read more
Gurgaon has banned large gatherings amid violence in several parts of Haryana due to ongoing protests on Agnipath scheme.
#WATCH | Haryana: Police chased away protesters who were agitating in Narnaul against #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme. Protest was also held at Hero Honda Chowk. pic.twitter.com/RPeu02mO0Y
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022
#WATCH | Bihar: The residence of Deputy CM Renu Devi, in Bettiah, attacked by agitators during their protest against #AgnipathScheme
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022
Her son tells ANI, "Our residence in Bettiah was attacked. We suffered a lot of damage. She (Renu Devi) is in Patna." pic.twitter.com/Ow5vhQI5NQ
#WATCH | Bihar: Protesting against #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme, agitators vandalise Lakhminia Railway Station and block railway tracks here. pic.twitter.com/H7BHAm8UIg
- ANI (@ANI) June 17, 2022
UP: Crowd gathered at Ballia Railway Station in protest against #AgnipathScheme
- ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 17, 2022
Forces have been deployed at station since morning. A few hooligans reached there but they were stopped from damaging much; they attempted stone-pelting. Action being taken: Ballia DM Saumya Agarwal pic.twitter.com/lSmW74l6tk
- Two coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express train were set on fire at Mohiuddinagar station in Bihar, officials told NDTV, adding no one was hurt in the incident.
- Several parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have witnessed protests over the new military recruitment policy. The protest had spread to BJP-ruled Haryana and Madhya Pradesh too.
- From Bihar's Ara to Haryana's Palwal, from Agra in Uttar Pradesh to Gwalior and Indore in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, hundreds of young aspirants for jobs in the armed forces took to streets, pouring their anger on public and private property.
- In Uttar Pradesh's Ballia, a mob set a train on fire this morning. They also damaged railway station property, before the police used force to disperse them.
- Another group of protesters carrying sticks argued with the police on the streets outside the railway station in the eastern UP district. Videos of the protest show young men with lathis breaking shops and benches at the railway station.
- "The police managed to stop the mob from large-scale damage. We will act against the men," Ballia District Magistrate Saumya Agarwal told reporters.