Agnipath scheme: Assuaging concerns, govt keeping close eye on violent protests
Darpan News Desk IANS, 16 Jun, 2022 10:51 AM
New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Amid reports of violent protests in various states against the recently announced 'Agnipath' scheme, the government tried to assuage the concerns raised over the new recruitment plan for the armed forces while keeping a close eye on the situation.
Sources said that the Centre is in touch with the governments of the states from where violent protests have been reported. Answering the concerns of what will 'Agniveers' do after four years, the government said that they (Agniveers) have better chances of getting jobs compared to others at the age of 24 years after leading a disciplined and skilled life for four years. The government also said that the union home ministry will give priority to Agniveers in recruitment to the CAPFs and Assam Rifles and most importantly one out four will be absorbed in the armed forces.
The government said that not many in the age group of 21 to 24 years have savings of Rs 12 lakh and after four years many big companies have announced to hire 'skilled' and 'disciplined' Agniveers. Graduation courses will also start for Agniveers which will be recognised in India and abroad.
"Several states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand announced giving priority to Agniveers in police and allied forces," the government said.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, meanwhile on Thursday welcomed this initiative to induct young men and women into the armed forces to develop a vibrant defence force and disciplined skilled youth with military ethos in civil society.
To support this initiative, the Department of School Education & Literacy through its autonomous institution, the National Institute of Open Schooling, is instituting a special programme in consultation with the defence authorities to enable those Agniveers who are class 10 pass to further their education and obtain a class 12 pass certificate by developing customized courses that are not only current but very relevant to their area of service. This certificate is recognised for both employment and higher education purposes in the whole country.
On Wednesday, the Union Home Ministry decided to give priority to Agniveers who complete four years under this scheme for recruitment into CAPFs and Assam Rifles.
On Thursday night, Shah reached to Nadda's residence and meeting between the two leaders lasted for about an hour. The Shah-Nadda meeting came after a series of events. Earlier, on Wednesday, Amarinder met Shah.
The police identified the victim as hakeem Satnam Singh who was attacked at his clinic on Thursday in the limits of Faqirabad police station. A police official said that unknown assailants, whose number could not be ascertained, opened fire on the victim and managed to escape from the scene, the Dawn news report said.
Chief Secretary H.K. Diwedi held an emergency meeting with the District Magistrates and Superintendent of Polices of West and East Burdwan, Bankura, Birbhum, Hooghly, and Howrah on Thursday evening and took stock of the situation. After that the state government decided to deploy the Army in certain areas. However, NDRF teams have been kept on standby.
According to sources, Amarinder Singh will convene a meeting of leaders close to him in a few days to consider the formation of his new party, which will include all the leaders of the anti-Sidhu faction.
The arrested persons have been identified as Abdul Khalid, Shriram Chaurasia, Zishan Ahmad, Vikas Kesarwani and Krishna Kumar. Inspector (Kareli) Anupam Sharma said the arrested persons had sold SIM cards to law-breakers at high prices after creating fake IDs.
The ex-CM of Punjab recalled that Rawat himself had publicly stated after meeting him that he was satisfied by his government's track record on the 2017 poll promises.
