Jalandhar, June 19 : Exposing the falsehood and deceit being propagated among the people for vote politics in the name of ‘Agnipath’, a temporary recruitment scheme of the Modi government for the three army services, the Mahila Kisan Union has alleged that the adhoc jobs apart from other lures to the unemployed youth to hire them as the ‘Agnivirs’ was another ‘jumla’, a deceitful gimmick and ambidexterity.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, the Mahila Kisan Union President Biba Rajwinder Kaur Raju said it was not possible at all for any state or union government to provide any such preference in the jobs to the much touted ‘Agnivirs’ under the existing reservation policy for all types of recruitments.
Revealing more she informed that all state governments and the center had promulgated a statutory recruitment policy which had already been legally enforced in the country and ratified by the Supreme Court. “So quota for the jobs had already been fixed for scheduled castes/tribes and backward classes etc according to this constitutional reservation policy but till now neither the central nor the state governments have made any specific amendments in their existing recruitment policies, nor has the Union Cabinet approved any such nationwide policy to provide special reservation in jobs for the ‘Agnivirs’,” she revealed.
“Therefore, without requisite amendments promising any special priority in jobs to all ‘Agnivirs’, who would face unemployment after the contractual posts, was a big lie and a misleading gossip of Modi dispensation,” she pointed out.
Biba Raju further said that in view of the protests by the youth, the Union Defence Ministry and other public sector undertakings have announced to give reservation in jobs to the Agnivirs, but the Supreme Court had recently decided against increasing the present quota of reservation and giving more reservation in the existing reservation. In view of the recent decision of the court, giving such priority quota to the Agnivirs would be a violation of law and the new amendments in the prevalent reservation policy would not survive in the the court.
The woman farmer leader has forwarned that any fresh amendment made into the existing statuary reservation rules to provide livelihood to such unemployed Agnivirs, would be detrimental more to the interests of the SCs, STs and other poor classes who were availing benefits under the policy, adding she said new amendments would further promote the feeling of alienation in the deprived sections of society and may further lead to anarchy in the country.
Strongly opposing this short-term employment in the army, Biba Raju said that after enlisting in the army at an early age then leaving alone the youth unemployed, would be against economic, social and moral values because of rising unemployment in the society and unemployed youth trained in weapons could give rise to serious social evils and violent tendencies in India as happened in countries like Yugoslavia, Ethiopia and Haiti.
Demanding the immediate cancellation of the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, the women leader advised that the Government of India should recruit the youths on priority who had been waiting for army recruitment for the last two years which was postponed during the Corona period by according a chance to them to serve the country till their retirement and don’t compromise with the security of the nation at the hands of adhoc recruits.
Seeking permanent recruitment in the armed forces, Biba Raju said the BJP government’s plan to provide short term jobs in the three services was completely wrong and also violates the established military norms leading to the formation of separate regiments over the centuries including human and fundamental rights.
She alleged that the new Agnivir scheme called ‘All India-All Classes’ was being implemented in the army as per the thought and guidance of RSS, would put youth of all religions and ethnicities together in a mixed regiment which was against the established norms.
