PM doing petty politics even while paying tribute to Kargil martyrs, trying to evade responsibility: Congress

New Delhi: Congress on Friday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on the controversial 'Agnipath' scheme, saying he is indulging in 'petty politics' even on the occasion of paying tributes to Kargil martyrs.

Referring to Modi's claim that the Agnipath scheme was the military's project, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said it is a 'blatant lie and an unpardonable insult' to the forces, as he is clearly spreading lies and confusion.

"No Prime Minister has done this before," he said, adding that former Army Chief General MM Naravane had on record said that the Army had recommended retention of 75 per cent of 'Agniveers' after four years of service and 25 per cent were to be retired. "But the Modi government did the opposite and forcibly implemented it," he said.

Kharge referred to reports about General Naravane's not-yet-published book in which he said that the 'Agnipath plan' was shocking for the Army, and it was like a bolt out of the blue for the Navy and Air Force.

"After all, what level of soldiers is Modi-ji building after six months of training. They will neither have experience of any operation nor will they have maturity. Soldiers join the army out of patriotism, not for earning a living. Many retired officers have strongly criticised this scheme and said that it is like playing with the national security and patriotic feelings of rural youth, so this scheme should be completely abolished. All this is on record," he said.

"Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no Liberalized Family Pension and no education allowance for the education of his children. So far 15 Agniveers have been martyred. The Prime Minister should at least respect their martyrdom. There is a lot of anger and strong opposition among the youth of the country regarding Agniveer. Congress party's demand will remain intact - Agnipath scheme must be scrapped," he said.

Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said Modi 'lies' even on Kargil Vijay Diwas.

"Modi is now trying to evade his responsibility for this disastrous scheme. ⁠He says that managing the pension bill has nothing to do with the introduction of Agnipath. This is contrary to all that government spokespersons, military experts, and defence commentators have been pointing out for the last two years. There has been unanimity that managing the pension bill of the government was the primary motivation for Agnipath/Agniveer. Now Modi says that this is not true," he said.

"It is absolutely amazing what the self proclaimed divinity tries to get away with. But the people of India found it out on June 4, 2024 and it is clear that he’s getting even more self-delusional," he added.