New Delhi, July 11
Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gave a presentation to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Defence members on the “Agnipath” scheme for military recruitment on Monday, with some opposition MPs demanding its immediate withdrawal.
After the nearly-two-hour meeting addressed by the defence minister and the three chiefs of the armed forces, opposition MPs, including those from the Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC), raised objections to the new recruitment scheme and said it should be rolled back.
Sources said Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil cited the criticism of the scheme by experts and decorated soldiers and said it should be withdrawn as it would affect the morale of the forces and create confusion.
He said the scheme should first be launched as a pilot project and those trained be recruited in the armed forces. It should only be introduced after working out various modalities, Gohil added.
