Protests against the 'Agnipath' recruitment scheme intensified in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country on Friday even as Home Minister Amit Shah and Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande defended the Centre's decision.
The Centre's decision to increase the upper age limit for joining the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in defence services will benefit a large number of youth, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.
He said the recruitment process in the Army had been affected for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a sensitive decision by showing concern for the youth of the country.
Gen Pande said the decision of the government has been received by the Army to grant the one-time waiver and that the recruitment process will be announced shortly. The Chief of Army Staff also called upon the youth to avail the opportunity to join the Army as 'Agniveers'.
"The decision of the government has been received to grant a one-time waiver, increasing the entry age of recruitment to 23 years, for the recruitment cycle of 2022," the Army Chief said in a statement.
20 train bogies set on fire in Bihar
Angry aspirants set fire to at least 20 bogies of the New Delhi-Bhagalpur Vikramshila Express and New Delhi-Darbhanga Bihar Sampark Kranti Express at Lakhisarai and Samastipur stations and blocked highways in the state.
The demonstrators blocked highways at several places in Buxar, Bhagalpur and Samastipur and burnt tyres as a mark of protest, officials said.
The protests, which is into its third day in the state, caused massive disruption of railway services at Buxar and Kahalgaon, officials of East Central Railways said.
Jamalpur superintendent of railway, Umer Javed said the protestors set on fire 12 bogies of Vikramshila Express. However, there was no casualty.
Protestors also set eight bogies of Bihar Sampark Kranti on fire at Samastipur railway station demanding scrapping of the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the Armed Forces, a Railway official said.
An ECR official said around 20 trains were cancelled due to the arson, while many others were either short-terminated or run on alternate routes.
At Lakhisarai station a large number of protestors lay down on the railway tracks to block the movement of trains. They were dispersed by Railway police with the help of the local police.
Mobile internet, SMS suspended in Faridabad
Following violent protests in Palwal against the Agnipath scheme, Haryana government has suspended mobile internet and SMS services for 24 hours in Ballabhgarh area of Faridabad district as a precautionary measure.
The order, which was issued by the Home department and came into effect after 12 am on Friday, led to the suspension of mobile internet services, all SMS services, including bulk SMS (excluding banking and mobile recharge), and all dongle services provided on mobile networks to maintain law and order and prevent the spread of rumours, officials said.
Arson at Secunderabad Railway Station
One person was killed and three others injured in the police firing on youths protesting at the Secunderabad railway station on Friday against the Central government's new military recruitment policy.
Unidentified miscreants went on the rampage at the Secunderabad Railway station here, setting on fire a parcel coach of a passenger train.
The agitators shouted slogans against the Centre demanding normal recruitment of army jobs, South Central Railway sources said.
The agitators, numbering about 300-350, pelted stones and set a parcel coach of a passenger train on fire, they said.
Some stalls in the railway station suffered damage, they said. The agitators pulled out cargo from the parcel coach and dumped it on the tracks and set fire leading to disruption of some train services.
Rahul Gandhi slams Modi
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not understand what the people of the country want as he cannot hear anything except the voice of his "friends".
He said this a day after the government raised the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 years for recruitment under 'Agnipath', amid protests by youth in several parts of the country against the scheme.
Gandhi also cited schemes such as GST, noteban, farm laws and now Agnipath, saying they were projected to be for the welfare of the people but were rejected by the citizens.
What is Agnipath scheme?
The 'Agnipath' scheme unveiled by the Ministry of Defence is a pan-India merit-based recruitment scheme for enrolling soldiers, airmen and sailors. Under the scheme, young persons will be provided an opportunity to serve in the armed forces as 'Agniveer' for a period of four years, including training period. The four-year period will be followed by compulsory retirement for at least 75 per cent of the personnel, without any pension benefits.
Hordes of aspirants had hit the streets, vandalised buildings and vehicles, stormed railway stations and set fire to train coaches demanding immediate roll back of 'Agnipath'.
With protests against 'Agnipath' reported from various parts of the country, the Centre on Thursday granted a one-time waiver in the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme by extending it to 23 years from 21 years for 2022.
(With PTI inputs.)
