AHMEDABAD: Congress and AAP have decided to intensify a low-decibel protest in Gujarat against the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment policy for the armed forces. State Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said after a party meeting that Congress would hold a rally against the scheme.
“BJP leaders who go at length describing the benefits of the ‘Agnipath’ scheme should first check their past. BJP leader VK Singh himself went to court to raise the retirement age from 60 to 65 during the Congress government. He had also moved the court to raise the pension amount. How can he explain the benefits of the Agnipath scheme?” he asked.
AAP’s joint general secretary Isudan Gadhvi said: “We don’t support violence, but we can’t allow the beating up of the young protestors.” He said MPs and MLAs are entitled to huge amounts of pension money. “On the other hand, the government has come up with a plan to fire soldiers who will work for only four years without any pension benefit.”