Rahul says Agniveers, with 6-month training, won't last against Chinese soldiers; claims Army wants scheme scrapped

Shahdol: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP government at the Centre over the Agnipath scheme, saying an Agniveer recruit who has undergone training for just six months will become a martyr in combat against a Chinese soldier, who has trained for five years.

Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol, Gandhi claimed the "Agniveer Yojana" was conceptualised by the prime minister but the Army is opposed to the scheme.

After coming to power, the Congress will abolish this short-term recruitment scheme for inducting soldiers, Gandhi said.

"Earlier, poor people used to join the sena. The soldiers used to get a pension and martyr status. The facility of the canteen was also available to them. Now the Centre says we are producing Agniveers by recruiting youths and training them for six months," the Congress MP said.

He wondered how an Agniveer could face a trained Chinese soldier.

"Chinese soldiers will come after undergoing (combat) training for five years. You can predict the result. Our sons will be martyred. Then we will be told that he won't get the status of martyr because he is an Agniveer. You will neither get the canteen facility nor a pension."

He said if Congress comes to power, it would scrap the Agniveer scheme.

In June 2022, the government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel to bring down the age profile of the three services.

It provides for recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

The Congress, in its manifesto "Nyay Patra," has promised to abolish the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme.

Gandhi also claimed the Army was not in favour of this scheme.

"If you ask the Army whether they want the Agniveer scheme, they will say they don't. This scheme is causing loss to us as well as the country. The Agniveer Yojana was conceptualised by the prime minister and a decision was taken by the PMO. The Army is against this scheme," he claimed.

"The Army wants Agniveer Yojana to be cancelled and we are going to scrap it," he added.

Gandhi also listed various promises mentioned in the Congress manifesto for women, youths, farmers and the poor.

He reiterated the Congress' commitment to the caste-based census which he likened to a "social X-ray".