In an address from Kargil, PM Modi targets oppn over Agnipath scheme

Drass: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.

In his address on Kargil Vijay Diwas here to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in Kargil war, Modi said some people were playing politics over a sensitive issue related to national security and rubbished claims that the Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money.

"The aim of Agnipath is to make the forces young...The aim of Agnipath is to keep the armies continuously fit for war," he said.

"Unfortunately, such a sensitive issue related to national security has been made a subject of politics by some people. Some people are playing politics of lies for their personal interests even on this reform of the army," he said.

The prime minister said Angipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms done by the army.

"For decades, there have been discussions in Parliament and various committees on making the armed forces younger. The average age of Indian soldiers being higher than the global average has been a matter of concern," he added.

He said this issue was raised in many committees for years but the will to resolve this national security challenge was not shown earlier.

"The country has addressed this concern through the Agnipath scheme," he said.

Hitting out at the opposition, Modi said, "These are the same people who weakened our forces by committing scams worth thousands of crores in the forces." He said these people did not want the Indian Air Force to get modern fighter jets and they had "made preparations to lock the Tejas fighter plane in a box." The prime minister also rubbished the claims that Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money.

"Some people are also spreading the misconception that the government has come up with this scheme to save pension money. I want to ask such people, the question of pension for today's recruits will arise after 30 years.Why would the government take a decision today," he asked.

Modi said his government has respected the decision taken by the forces as "for us the security of the country is paramount, not politics".

"Those who are misleading the youth of the country...history is witness to the fact that they do not care about the soldiers. These are the same people who lied about One Rank One Pension by showing Rs 500 crore. It is our government which implemented One Rank One Pension and gave more than Rs 1.25 lakh crore to ex-servicemen," he added.