'Those Who Committed Scams...': PM Modi Tears Into Opposition's Agnipath Charge, Congress Responds

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme was an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young. Responding to it, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said that their “demand is consistent-the Agnipath Scheme should be scrapped!”

In his address on Kargil Vijay Diwas here to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in Kargil war, Modi said some people were playing politics over a sensitive issue related to national security and rubbished claims that the Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money. “The aim of Agnipath is to make the forces young…The aim of Agnipath is to keep the armies continuously fit for war,” he said.

“Unfortunately, such a sensitive issue related to national security has been made a subject of politics by some people. Some people are playing politics of lies for their personal interests even on this reform of the army,” he said. “For decades, there have been discussions in Parliament and various committees on making the armed forces younger. The average age of Indian soldiers being higher than the global average has been a matter of concern,” he added.

He said this issue was raised in many committees for years but the will to resolve this national security challenge was not shown earlier. “The country has addressed this concern through the Agnipath scheme,” he said.

Hitting out at the opposition, Modi said, “These are the same people who weakened our forces by committing scams worth thousands of crores in the forces.” He said these people did not want the Indian Air Force to get modern fighter jets and they had “made preparations to lock the Tejas fighter plane in a box.”

The prime minister also rubbished the claims that Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money. “Some people are also spreading the misconception that the government has come up with this scheme to save pension money. I want to ask such people, the question of pension for today’s recruits will arise after 30 years. Why would the government take a decision today,” he asked.

Modi said his government has respected the decision taken by the forces as “for us the security of the country is paramount, not politics”. “Those who are misleading the youth of the country…history is witness to the fact that they do not care about the soldiers. These are the same people who lied about One Rank One Pension by showing Rs 500 crore. It is our government which implemented One Rank One Pension and gave more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore to ex-servicemen,” he added.

Air Marshall SP Singh (Retd.) said, “PM Modi clarified it very well…Give the scheme a chance…And like the PM said it is the decision of the armed forces. It is a scheme endorsed by the government and the country is accepting it….It is a very good scheme…”

CONGRESS REACTS

Kharge posted on X: “It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister @narendramodi ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. No Prime Minister has ever done this before. Modi ji is saying that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army, this is a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult to our valiant Armed Forces…”

He further wrote: “Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and 25% of people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces. According to news reports, Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt, has stalled from being published, has also said, that the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a “bolt out of the blue”! Are we creating professional soldiers, only by 6 months of training? Soldiers join the Army out of patriotism, not to earn a living. Many retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering National Security and the aspirations of the rural youth, demanding that this scheme should be completely scrapped. All this is on record. Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no liberalized family pension and no education allowance for their children. Modi ji, 15 Agniveers have been martyred so far. At least respect their martyrdom. There is a lot of anger and strong opposition among the youth of the country regarding Agniveer!”

In response to PM Modi’s speech in Kargil, Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said, “It is a very proud moment for the entire nation that we emerged victorious. The terror attacks in J&K are increasing and we have to stop them. Drones, heroin and illegal weapons are continuously being smuggled into my Lok Sabha constituency. PM Modi should also talk about how to stop them. Why youth is getting involved in drugs? PM Modi will have to be answerable to these.”