Agnipath stir spreads, govt tries to douse fire

Protests spilled out of the heartland into some states in the south and the east, even as the government reassured young people that recruits under the Agnipath scheme will be taken care of after their four-year stint in the forces A 21-year-old man was killed in police firing in Secunderabad and an unidentified passenger died in Bihar after inhaling smoke in a burning compartment on Friday as protests against the new defence recruitment scheme intensified across India with agitators burning down more trains, buses and buildings and clashing violently with police Protests spilled out of the heartland into some states in the south and the east, even as the government reassured young people that recruits under the Agnipath scheme will be taken care of after their four-year stint in the forces. Ministers also issued appeals for calm and said young men should take advantage of the one-time relaxation in the upper ceiling of age for eligibility, announced late on Thursday Defence minister Rajnath Singh is expected to hold a meeting with the top military brass on Saturday to discuss the scheme and the way forward, officials aware of the matter said.

“The Agnipath scheme by the central government gives a golden opportunity to the youth of the country to join the defence system and serve the country,” Singh said on Friday. He added that since recruitment was stalled for two years due to the pandemic, the government had relaxed the age criteria from 21 to 23 as a one-time measure, with the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi But the government’s announcement failed to quell the protests that spread to states such as Telangana, West Bengal and Biharon Friday. Young men burnt party offices, burnt cars, buses and trains, vandalised railway stations, toll plazas and shops, and blocked roads. Protests were especially violent in Bihar, where the agitation first began on Wednesday, with protesters attacking the house of deputy chief minister Renu Devi and state Bharatiya Janata Party president Sanjay Jaiswal. Protesters called for a bandh on Saturday “I have trained for four to five years to get into the army. I did not do so to get a four year job and then be called army reject. I wanted to be in the army for 20 years or more. We want restoration of the old scheme which provides social security to me and my entire family,” said Ram Kumar, a protestor in Bihar’s Samastipur. He added the protest will continue till their demand to restore the old recruitment scheme is restored.

At least 316 trains were affected and 200 cancelled, railway officials said. Another 14 trains were torched across Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. “I appeal to the youth to not indulge in violent protests and not damage the property of the Railways,” railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a video message