DEHRADUN: NSUI workers held a demonstration at the busy clock tower roundabout here on Saturday in protest against the Centre's Agnipath scheme for military recruitment.
Shouting anti-government slogans, National Students' Union of India (NSUI) workers marched from their party office to the clock tower, where they burnt the effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to register their protest against the short-term recruitment scheme for youngsters in the armed forces.
NSUI state president Mohan Bhandari termed the scheme a "four-year lollipop" and claimed that it will ruin the future of the country's youngsters.
City Congress chief Lalchand Sharma and party MLA from Khatima Bhuvan Chandra Kapri also joined the demonstration to express their solidarity with the protesting NSUI workers.
"There is great resentment among youngsters over the scheme, which is an attempt to play with their future," Kapri said.
"What will they do after they retire from the armed forces in their early 20s?" he asked.
State Congress chief Karan Mahara also demanded the scheme's withdrawal, saying it will leave the youngsters in the lurch after four years.
Congress MLAs had staged a walkout in the state Assembly on Friday in protest against the scheme.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt accused the Congress of instigating the youngsters of the country, claiming that the opposition party is worried about the growing popularity of the Narendra Modi government.
"The scheme is the best model adopted by the Centre after studying the armed forces' recruitment methods in the US, China and Israel.
The upper age limit for the scheme has also been raised from 21 to 23 years and 45,000 youngsters will be recruited in the armed forces under the scheme every year.
The Congress is only instigating the youngsters," Bhatt told reporters in Nainital.
Those selected under the Agnipath scheme will be trained for six months and 25 per cent of them will be retained after the four-year period while the rest will be given preference in appointments in the central paramilitary forces, the Union minister said.
Uttarakhand and many other states have also said they will give preference to them when it comes to recruiting candidates for the state police force or the disaster management department after they return from their four-year stint in the armed forces, Bhatt, who is an MP from Nainital, said.
With several states witnessing violent protests against the scheme, Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar has asked the SPs and SSPs of different districts to be on the alert.
Peaceful protests are okay but nothing at the cost of peace will be allowed, the DGP has said.
The SPs and SSPs of various districts are also counselling students in consultation with the coaching centres where they prepare for various competitive examinations.
There have been protests against the Agnipath scheme in different parts of Uttarakhand but those have not turned violent yet.
However, police resorted to lathi-charge in Haldwani on Friday to disperse a group of protesting youngsters.
Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar on Saturday appealed to the youth to maintain peace and not to take the law into their hands as protests took place against the Centre's Agnipath scheme in the state.
"Some young friends in Uttarakhand are agitating against the Agnipath scheme. While some of them are misinformed some are being instigated. I appeal to all of them to stay calm and maintain peace," he said in a video message.
Asking them to think positively, the DGP said, "Serving the armed forces can also be seen as an opportunity which will open up other employment avenues for them."
"The chief minister has said after their four-year stint in the armed forces, they can be given opportunities in the police force and disaster management department," he said.
Still, if they want to protest, they should do it in a peaceful and democratic way, he added.
"You should not damage any national property. You are the country's future," he said.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Saturday urged the AAP government in Punjab to bring a resolution against the scheme in the upcoming budget session of the state Assembly.
The budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha will commence on June 24.
Bajwa, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, also requested the state government to take an all-party delegation to meet the prime minister over the Agnipath scheme.
Protests have erupted in parts of Haryana and Punjab against the scheme, which aims at the recruitment of the youth aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the armed forces for a four-year period.
Bajwa in a statement here on Saturday, said, "I urge the Government of Punjab to bring forth a resolution against the Agnipath recruitment scheme announced by the Government of India during the upcoming session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha."
"Furthermore, I recommend that the Government of Punjab take an all-party delegation to meet with the hon'ble prime minister to explain why the Agnipath scheme must be immediately rolled back," he said.
Bajwa, who is a legislator from Qadian, said, "The Agnipath scheme will negatively impact the youth of Punjab."
Under the new recruitment scheme, Punjab's representation in the Army will plunge dramatically from 7.8 per cent currently to 2.3 per cent, he said.
"This is an insult to the sacrifices made by Punjabis for India," the Congress leader added.
"The resultant loss of jobs for Punjabis and the chaos, frustration and unhappiness caused will lead to destabilisation of this strategic border state. This situation will be exploited by anti-national forces and enemies lurking across the border," he claimed.
The leader said the scheme "helps nobody, and the current shock and awe tactics employed to unveil the scheme has only demoralised thousands of applicants who wish to serve in the armed forces".
"For Indians to be retired at 21, with no chance at further growth apart from some nebulous promises of jobs in the Central Armed Police Forces will further disincentivise the youth of India from signing up for the armed forces," he said.
The Centre on Tuesday unveiled the ambitious scheme for recruitment of the youth aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis.
The youth recruited under the scheme will be known as "Agniveers".
After the completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from each specific batch will be offered regular service.