Satya Pal Malik seeks withdrawal of Agnipath scheme

Jaipur: Former Meghalaya governor Satya Pal Malik asked the Union government once again on Thursday to immediately withdraw contractual appointment in the defence forces, saying the 'Agnipath' scheme was "very dangerous" for the country.

"They have no idea how much harm they are doing to the country. Agnipath is a very dangerous scheme," Malik told reporters in Jaipur.

"The Centre should withdraw it immediately and bring back a full-time job scheme with facilities like pension," he said.

He also took a dig at the 'Gujarat model' of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

"The Gujarat model is nothing. It has the same poverty," he said.

"The farmers are suffering. There is unemployment and no medical facilities. The schools are also not good. There is no heaven in Gujarat," Malik said.

He added that the central government should keep up with its promise to the farmers regarding the minimum support price (MSP).

Malik warned that agitations would break out if the MSP for all agricultural commodities was not implemented.