'Agnipath introduced in haste like noteban, lockdown': Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav criticise Centre

The 'unrestrained statements' by the BJP leaders and the 'narrow politics' of spreading confusion among the people should immediately end, Mayawati said

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday slammed the Centre over 'Agnipath' claiming the scheme was introduced in a haste and that the country's security was paramount.

Mayawati said in a Hindi tweet, "The new 'Agnipath' scheme has taken the country by surprise and is being implemented in haste like 'notebandi' (demonetisation) and 'taalaabandi' (lockdown), which affected crores of youths and their families, and there is anger among them. The government should avoid having an arrogant attitude."

The "unrestrained statements" by the BJP leaders and the "narrow politics" of spreading confusion among the people and creating difficulties for the army should immediately end, she said in another tweet.

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Akhilesh Yadav also took to Twitter to condemn the scheme.

"The youths are feeling disappointed and there is a feeling of fear and insecurity towards their future. This will prove to be fatal for the country's development. The responsibility of the government is to improve the present and shape up the country's future. The Opposition to the BJP from all sides shows it has lost its support base," he wrote in Hindi.

In another tweet, the SP chief told the government not to nudge anyone else to bat for Agnipath. He also took a dig at the Centre saying national security was more important that the security of "industrialists".

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"The Agnipath policy has been made by the government. So, the government and the ruling party spokespersons should not push forward (anybody else to endorse). The safety of the country is more important than the safety of the income of industrialists. Hence, if there is a shortfall in the budget, the government should impose additional taxes on the corporate sector, but should not compromise with the security of the country."

The Centre last Tuesday unveiled the Agnipath scheme to recruit youngsters aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 years in the army, navy and air force, largely on a four-year contractual basis. It later relaxed the upper age limit for this year's recruitment to 23.