Agnipath protests politically motivated, says Anurag Thakur

New Delhi: Speaking at the inaugural CNN-News18 Town Hall, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Sports & Youth Affairs, Anurag Thakur said that the protests against the Agnipath scheme were politically motivated.

“I believe people are playing politics over this. Small children who have no knowledge about the scheme are seen raising slogans and carrying flags. But while the violence is happening, a question should be asked, who are these people who are indulging in the violence? Aren’t those in the Army supposed to be the most disciplined? I suggest that if the youth wants to speak to someone or suggest changes, we are ready to listen,” he told CNN-News18’s political editor Marya Shakeel.

Thakur said that the Agnipath scheme will ensure that the Army’s overall age is lowered. Further, after the said four years, young people who had joined the Army will have approximately Rs 25 lakhs in their account at the age of 25.

“States have announced that these young men after the completion of their four years, will be recruited in the police,” he said.

Responding to a question on Rahul Gandhi’s jibe at the 10 lakh jobs announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thakur said, “First of all, Rahul Gandhi should be able to be answer all the questions being asked by investigating agencies. He should have appreciated that jobs are being created and vacancies are being filled. The Modi government has always been creating jobs. The Mudra Yojna has helped businesses come up which helped job seekers become job providers.”

Thakur further questioned if Congress has fulfilled its promises on job assurances made during the elections. “The Congress-ruled states had promised that every individual from every household will be given a job, but they couldn’t provide it. But what we have done is actually deliver on our promises. made,” said Thakur.

Speaking on sports and the steady rise of India globally, he said, “What we are witnessing in sports is the work that we have done over the past several years. It takes about 8-10 years to prepare an athlete. We have done well in Olympics, Paralympics and other global championships. What has changed is that the Prime Minister himself speaks to all our athletes. The PM meets them before and after the matches. If you remember, PM has always said that do not get disheartened, but play will all the zeal. There was a time when sports were not hailed as a career but today an athlete is looked up to and their wins are highlighted in the media, further empowering them.”

Talking about the upcoming elections in Himachal Pradesh and whether he sees the Aam Aadmi party as a threat, Thakur said, “I have a straightforward question to Arvind Kejriwal that while everyone in the AAP Himachal is today joining BJP, where is the politically driven attack? In Punjab, they have not even completed 2 months and more than 14 murders in the state. Arvind Kejriwal will not win even a single seat in Himachal Pradesh.”

With regards to OTT platforms, Thakur said, “When we decided on self-regulation on OTT, we wanted to create an industry-driven check on everything. There are age groups, where a viewer can submit their credentials and watch whatever they wish to. We have never stopped a movie or certification. But in case there are complaints about a particular scene, we do raise the same with the platforms and the same is usually taken down by themselves to ensure that there is no tension in the country.”