PM Modi vs Congress over the Agnipath scheme.
Congress leader Karti Chidambaram criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for defending the 'Agnipath' scheme at an event to honour the Kargil War soldiers. Mr Chidambaram said that the Army should not be politicised and that the Agniveer scheme should be scrapped.
"Agniveer scheme should be scrapped. Modern warfare requires fully-trained soldiers, and the scheme does not give full-trained soldiers. The Agniveer scheme does not solve the needs of the Army," Mr Chidambaram told NDTV.
"Indian Army has a glorious past and should not be politicised. We salute the army and not the other way around," he added.
Another Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, echoed the sentiments and said that the government needs to mention what will happen to the Agniveers once they retire after a four-year service.
"PM is saying that we are spreading confusion. He is speaking about what will happen after 30 years. He should talk about what will after 4 years to these agniveers," Mr Randhawa said.
Launched in 2022, the Agnipath scheme was designed to recruit personnel for short-term service in the armed forces, aimed at reducing the age profile across the services. Known as Agniveers, these individuals do not currently qualify for regular benefits such as pensions for their families in the event of their death in service.
The issue has sparked broader discussions, with a parliamentary panel earlier recommending that families of Agniveers who die in the line of duty should receive benefits equivalent to those provided to families of regular military personnel.
Earlier today, PM Modi accused the Congress of spreading lies about the Agnipath scheme to ensure that youths do not sign up for short-term recruitment in the armed forces.
"They (Congress) did not want our defence forces to have the latest fighter planes. They are opposing the Agnipath Scheme which is aimed at making our soldiers young and fighting fit for war," he said at the Kargil War memorial.
"They are saying that the Agniveer Scheme has been floated to save on pensions by Narendra Modi. They forget that a soldier recruited today will be eligible for a pension after 30 years and by then Modi would be 105. They want people to believe that Modi is such a fool that he will play mischief with the country's defence forces," he added.
A huge row broke out earlier this month with the family of Agniveer Ajay Kumar, who died in the line of duty, demanding 'hero' status for him. The family said that the compensation money cannot replace Ajay Kumar.