Advocate M.L. Sharma’s plea said a large section of youth have started protesting against the scheme in various parts of the country….reports Asian Lite News
The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a group of petitions, challenging the newly-launched Agnipath recruitment scheme for defence forces.
The batch of pleas will be heard by a bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and A.S. Bopanna.
These include a plea by armed forces aspirants seeking an urgent hearing in the matter stating the scheme should not be made applicable to those who are already undergoing the selection process. It further contended that the matter was urgent, as the career of several aspirants was at stake, and pointed out that implementation of the scheme will cut short the tenure of the aspirants to 4 years from 20 years.
Advocate M.L. Sharma also mentioned his plea seeking direction from the top court to quash the notification by the Ministry of Defence on June 14 announcing the scheme. Sharma said the government can bring out any scheme but it is about right and wrong. He added that more than 70,000 are still awaiting appointment letters.
After hearing the arguments, the vacation bench had said: “List it before the appropriate bench after reopening.”
Sharma’s plea said a large section of youth have started protesting against the scheme in various parts of the country.
It said: “According to the impugned press note… dated June 14, 2022 after 4 years out of 100 per cent selected candidates for Permanent Commission in the Indian Army, 25 per cent will be continued in Indian Army force and the rest 75 per cent will be retired/denied jobs in the Indian army. During 4 years they will be paid salary and perks, but after 4 years denied candidates will get no pension etc.”
Another plea has been filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari seeking a direction to set up a committee to examine the scheme and its impact on national security and the Army.
The Central government has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court regarding the petitions in connection with the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, saying that it should be heard before taking any decision.
The deeper analysis of these Twitter profiles found that most of these accounts used anti Indian hashtags and found that these handles are members of the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) Social media team….reports Asian Lite News
The Central government on June 14 rolled out its ‘Agnipath’ scheme for short-term recruitment of other ranks in the armed forces, and the aspirants literally set the nation on fire.
According to News9 report, a parallel campaign is being run on social media platforms by the digital media team of Pakistan to fuel the Agnipath protest in India.
Starting with Bihar on June 16, protests raged across the country demanding the scheme’s withdrawal and by June 17, 12 trains were set ablaze, movement of about 300 trains were hampered, 214 trains were cancelled, 11 were diverted, and 90 were terminated before their destination.
Most of the protests on the ground initially were spontaneous outbursts triggered by anxieties of unemployed youth and genuine concern among a large number of aspirants.
There are five Twitter accounts were most active when it comes to tweeting on the Agnipath protest – @Foxia7sky, @iamkamranhaider, @MKJ_PK, @SajjadAMallick and @SyedUmarShah1, the News9 quoted report as saying.
The deeper analysis of these Twitter profiles found that most of these accounts used hashtags like Imported_Government_Disapproved and this indicates that these handles are members of the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) Social media team. Some of these handles also mentioned Imran Khan, the news nine reported.
The report also suggests that most of the time they were retweeting or quoting tweets that were critical of the Indian government.
“PM Modi’s own supporters vandalize & burn train stations in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in protest of the Agnipath Recruitment Scheme. Over 12 trains were set on fire and several protestors were killed. Take a look at the chaos” reads one of the retweets by these accounts, the News9 report said.
Meanwhile, India has banned the official Twitter accounts of several Pakistani diplomatic missions, journalists and some prominent personalities under the’s Information Technology Act, 2000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad has claimed.
“Deeply concerning that #India has blocked the flow of information to Indian Twitter by withholding access to the following official accounts,” Geo News quoted the Ministry as saying in a tweet on Monday night, while listing down the banned accounts.
The banned accounts include accounts of the Pakistani Embassy in UN, Turkey, Iran and Egypt.
“Diminishing space for plurality of voices & access to info in India is extremely alarming,” the tweet added.
The Ministry called out Twitter, saying that social media platforms should abide by the applicable international norms.
It said that the government of Pakistan is urging the tech company to restore access to the restricted accounts immediately and ensure adherence to democratic freedoms of speech and expression.
Meanwhile, the Twitter handles of journalists, including The News and Geo News reporter in London, Murtaza Ali Shah and CJ Werleman have also been withheld by the company under India’s Information Technology Act, 2000, Geo News reported.
Murtaza Ali Shah has around 550,000 followers on his verified Twitter @MurtazaViews account.
He has been associated with The News and Geo for more than 17 years.
Shah confirmed he received an email notice from Twitter about India’s legal action against his account
The plea said the scheme would cause a serious injury to the citizens, including to the Indian Army, which cannot be repaired if not quashed…reports Asian Lite News
A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Agnipath scheme, to induct youth into all three armed forces for a period of four years.
The plea, filed by advocate M.L. Sharma sought a direction from the top court to quash the notification issued by the Ministry of Defence on June 14 announcing the scheme.
Noting that a large section of youth have started protesting against the scheme in various parts of the country, the plea said: “According to the impugned press note… dated 14.06.2022, after 4 years out of 100 per cent selected candidates for Permanent Commission in Indian Army, 25 per cent will be continued in Indian Army force and the rest 75 per cent will be retired/denied jobs in the Indian Army. During 4 years they will be paid salary and perk but after 4 years, denied candidates will get no pension etc.”
The plea said the Central government, contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having approval from the Parliament and without any gazette notification, quashed the century-old army selection process and imposed the scheme on the country.
Citing a protest at ITO, New Delhi, the plea said: “Several students along with the members of All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Friday staged a protest over the Central government’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces and demanded its rollback.”
“Holding placards, the students raised slogans against the government and sat in between the old Delhi Police headquarters and the Gate No 5 of the ITO Delhi Metro Station.”
The plea said the scheme would cause a serious injury to the citizens, including to the Indian Army, which cannot be repaired if not quashed.
The opposition maintained the pressure on the government and pressed for the immediate withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme…reports Asian Lite News
With the government standing its ground on the ‘Agnipath’ military recruitment scheme, some organisations have called for ‘Bharat Bandh’ on Monday amid the ongoing protests demanding a rollback of the plan.
Over 500 trains have been cancelled today in view of the Bharat Bandh call in parts of the country. The railways has suffered a major loss of property due to arson and rioting by the protesters over the last five days.
Traffic congestion at Delhi borders
Amid demonstrations against the government’s new Agnipath scheme, some organisations have called for a ‘Bharat bandh’ on Monday.
Delhi and Gurugram police have intensified vehicle checking at the Delhi-Gurugram border on National Highway 48, which resulted in huge traffic congestion.
Commuters mostly entering Delhi were stuck in the jam. The Delhi Police has put up its barricades at the borders and only a few lanes were open for the traffic entering the city. This caused the traffic going towards the capital to be slow and vehicles were in the queue from the border to Shankar Chowk on the expressway.
The heavy presence of security personnel was seen at the Delhi-Gurugram border in the early hours of Monday in the wake of the nationwide shutdown call. This caused traffic movement on the expressway to slow down and massive jam was witnessed on the national highway.
Sources said the police are keeping a vigil on vehicles coming from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to the national capital.
The officials of Gurugram traffic control room said that traffic movement on the expressway is slow due to Delhi police putting up barricades on the Delhi-Gurugram border and near the Rajokri flyover.
“Police are updating people about the traffic situation in Gurugram through the official social media handles,” said Ravinder Kumar Tomer, DCP (traffic), adding that “While regular traffic can pass, checks are likely to slow it down or lead to jams. More than 1,100 traffic cops have been deployed at all major points.”
“The Gurugram police are already on high alert amid the demonstration. The strength of the personnel has been increased at all the connecting borders of the district. Traffic advisory has also been issued,” he said.
The traffic jams could be seen at Noida-Delhi border as well.
Meanwhile, within Delhi at Jantar Mantar, the Congress has begun its ‘Satyagrah’ to register its protest against the government over defence recruitment scheme Agnipath.
The Agnipath scheme, termed as a historic and transformative measure by the government, has met unprecedented levels of agitations and protests in several states across India.
On Monday, the agitation forced the Railways to cancel 181 Mail Express and 348 passenger trains.
‘Govt’s ultimate anti-national act’
Stepping up its attack on the Centre, the Congress held a ‘Satyagraha’ in Delhi in support of those protesting the government’s Agnipath scheme with party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urging the youth to recognise “fake nationalists” and ensure that a new government is formed in the country which shows “real patriotism”.
She alleged the new military recruitment scheme would be destructive for the youth and the Army.
Several top Congress leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi, AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal, party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adir Ranjan Chowdhury, Harish Rawat, Communications department head Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid, Sachin Pilot, Deepender Hooda and Ajay Maken, participated in the ‘Satyagraha’ held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
Congress leaders and supporters criticised the BJP-led Central government and said the Agnipath scheme is not beneficial for the country’s youth and will also jeopardises national security.
“There is no bigger patriot than you. I want to tell you, open your eyes and recognise the fake nationalists and fake patriots. The entire country and the Congress are with you in your struggle,” Priyanka Gandhi said in her remarks aimed at the youths protesting the Agnipath scheme.
In her address, the Congress general secretary also recited a few lines from Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s Hindi poem ‘Agnipath’ to urge the youths to persevere and keep struggling peacefully.
“The name of the poem has been given to such a scheme that will destroy the youth. This scheme will destroy the Army. Recognise this government’s intentions.”
“In a democratic way and by walking on the path of truth and non-violence, bring down this government. Your objective should be (to ensure) that such a government is formed in the country which shows real patriotism and takes forward the poor and the youth of the country,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
She also appealed to those protesting to not resort to violence.
“I want the youth to know that we understand your pain. This is your country and this country’s property is yours. So, it is your responsibility to protect it. I appeal to you to hold peaceful protests but not stop. It is your duty to protect the country’s democracy. Every leader of the Congress will support you in fulfilling this duty,” she said.
The Congress leader alleged that the government is working for big industrialists.
“I appeal to you to understand the situations around you (and) what the government is doing. This government is not working for the poor and its people but for big industrialists,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
Addressing the gathering, Pilot said if the government wanted to save money then it should not have gone ahead with the Central Vista project and bought two planes, that would have saved thousands of crores.
The agitators also vandalised the house of deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi in Bettiah city. They pelted stones at her house and destroyed properties…reports Asian Lite News
Protests against Agnipath scheme intensified in Bihar’s several districts on Friday with the agitators damaging the Railways properties and targeting the BJP leaders in West Champaran district.
The agitators attacked BJP MLA Vinay Bihari and vandalised his Mahindra Bolero SUV. He was on the way from Lauria to his native place.
“Around 200 agitators holding batons in hands intercepted my SUV and smashed the window panes. I have two armed guards but they were helpless. The agitators were abusing Modi Ji,” Vinay Bihar told the media personnel.
Besides Vinay Bihari, the agitators attacked the house of Sanjay Jaiswal, the BJP state president in Bettiah city, which is the district headquarters of West Champaran. The protesters vandalised his properties.
The agitators also vandalised the house of deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi in Bettiah city. They pelted stones at her house and destroyed properties.
In Samastipur, the agitators attacked the house of BJP MLA Birendra Yadav. They pelted stones at his house.
Keeping in view the violent protests, a majority of the family members of the BJP MLAs in the affected districts have taken shelter in the houses of neighbours and relatives.
The heat of Agnipath reached Bihar capital Patna on Friday. The agitators targeted Patna-Bakhtiyarpur four lane road toll plaza at Didarganj and set a toll kiosk on fire. Besides, a large number of agitators burnt the tyres on Ashok Rajpath at the Patna college.
In Danapur, an outskirt town of Patna, the agitators who were marching from Saguna Mor to Danapur railway station attacked on city buses shattering the window panes.
The agitators set the Rajgir-Fatuha Memo passenger on fire at the Fatuha railway station in Patna district. Three coaches were gutted in the attack.
In Rohtas, the protesters set the Sasaram toll plaza on fire. The Sasaram toll plaza is located on NH 19 connecting New Delhi to Kolkata. The police force fired several rounds in the air to disperse the mob.
In Supaul, the violent protesters set fire to Saharsa-Lalitgram passenger train (05516 down). An engine and a coach were gutted in the fire.
In Bhojpur, the protesters set the Patna-Sasaram passenger train afire at Kulharia railway station. Two coaches were gutted in the fire.
In Samastipur, the agitatorsburnt down four coaches of the Darbhanga-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express train. The train was on its way to New Delhi. When it reached Samastipur station a violent mob attacked it. They forced the passengers to deboard and then set it on fire.
Recruitment Drive
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the recruitment into the military through the Agnipath scheme will begin soon. He advised the aspirants to begin their preparations.
Calling the scheme a ‘golden opportunity’ to join the nation’s defence system and to serve the country, Singh thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allowing age waiver for the first batch to be recruited through the scheme.
However, the Defence Minister’s comment comes amid the protests against the Agnipath scheme which started in Bihar and has spread to several states. The protests against Agnipath continued for the third day in seven states, including the national capital.
“Agnipath is a golden opportunity for the youth to join the defence system and serve the country. As the recruitment was stalled for the last two years, many were deprived of the opportunity to join the army,” Singh tweeted.
“Therefore, keeping in mind the future of the youth, on the instructions of the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi, the government has increased the age limit for the recruitment of Agniveers from 21 years to 23 years this time. This one time relaxation has been given. This will entitle a lot of youth to become Agniveers,” said the Defence minister in a subsequent tweet.
“I heartily thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for his concern and sensitivity towards the future of the youth. I appeal to the youth that the process of recruitment in the army is going to start in few days. They must start their preparation for it,” Rajnath Singh tweeted.
Considering the widespread protests, the government on Thursday allowed a one-time age waiver for the scheme considering that recruitment was stalled for the last two years. The upper age limit now has been raised to 23 instead of 21 now.
Train services
Hundreds of youths demonstrated against the Centre’s new military recruitment policy, Agnipath at the Indore railway station forcing cancellation of several trains.
Agitators barged into the Laxmi Bai railway station, raised slogans opposing the new policy and indulged in stone pelting. Heavy police force have been deployed to disperse the protesters and to control the situation.
According to official information, services of at least five to six trains were disrupted for over three hours. Several protesters were detained and security forces deployed in nearby railway stations, including Ratlam, Shajapur, Ujjain.
The agitation here started a day after it rocked Gwalior on Friday. Panic gripped the city for almost three-four hours. Private and public properties were damaged and tyres burnt on the railway track.
Two FIRs – one in Railway police and another at local police station have been registered and identification of youth that damaged properties during the protest in Gwalior is underway.
As the protest spread in the state, leaders of the ruling BJP accused the opposition of “misleading” the people which resulted in a stir.
State Home Minister Narottam Mishra blamed MP Congress Kamal Nath for misleading the youth in the state. “Agnipath is a revolutionary step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the armed forces. Kamal Nath’s message on social media (twitter) seems to have misled youth and they are protesting,” Mishra has said on Thursday’s protest in Gwalior.
The ‘Agnipath’ scheme termed as a historic and transformative measure by the government, has met unprecedented levels of agitations and protests in several states across India…reports Asian Lite News
Several students along with the members of All India Students’ Association (AISA) and AAP’s Chatr-Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) on Friday staged a protest over the Central government’s ‘Agnipath’ scheme for recruitment in the armed forces and demanded its rollback.
Holding placards, the students raised slogans against the government and sat on the road in between the old Delhi Police headquarters and the Gate No 5 of the ITO Delhi Metro Station.
However, as the numbers kept rising, the security personnel, including CRPF, removed the protesters from the site. Several protesters were detained by the Delhi Police.
One of the protesters said they did not want a contract job. “Where will we go after years? Our life and career is at stake. The government needs to take it back,” a protestor said.
AISA National President N. Sai Balaji said the government cannot silence voices protesting against a policy that will dilute security of India and professionalism of the Defence forces. “Agnipath will destroy lives of youth who will be hired through contractualisation in Defence forces,” he said.
Meanwhile, DMRC informed that all gates of ITO Metro Station and Dhansa Bus Stand Metro stations were closed in wake of the protest. It further informed that all gates of Delhi Gate and Jama Masjid Metro Stations were also shut.
The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday approved the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme for the Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The youth selected under this scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’. About 46,000 of them will be recruited this year.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the scheme is a transformative initiative and under it the Indian youngsters will get an opportunity to serve in the armed forces.
“The scheme will increase employment opportunities and aims to create a youthful profile of the Armed forces,” Singh said.
However, the scheme, termed as a historic and transformative measure by the government, has met unprecedented levels of agitations and protests in several states across India
Eye Opener
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Friday said the violent protests against the Central government’s new Army recruitment Agnipath scheme is an eye-opener.
Rama Rao stated that the violent protests are also acute indicator of the magnitude of unemployment crisis in the country.
KTR, as the Telangana minister is popularly known, took to Twitter to slam the Narendra Modi government after large-scale violence rocked Secunderabad railway station.
“Pehle Desh ke Kisan Ke Saath khilwad Aur Ab Desh ke Jawan Ke Saath khilwad,” wrote KTR.
“From One Rank – One Pension to proposed No Rank – No Pension,” he added.
Youth protesting against the new recruitment scheme went on rampage at Secunderabad railway station on Friday, setting afire trains and vandalising railway station.
One protestor was killed and three others injured when police opened fire to bring the situation under control.
Situation in UP
Widespread protests against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for the recruitment of armed forces have spread to several districts in Uttar Pradesh.
Bulandshahr, Meerut, Agra, Mathura, Varanasi, Unnao, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Rae Bareli and Ballia are among the districts that have witnessed protests, with youth demanding the scheme’s withdrawal.
In several districts, the police had to resort to lathi charge and fire teargas shells to disperse the mob. In Bulandshahr, protesters blocked the busy GT Road.
“We strongly oppose the new recruitment scheme. We want the old recruitment scheme back,” one of the protesters said.
Bulandshahr Superintendent of Police, Shlok Kumar said: “Some youngsters gathered to stage a protest in the morning. They later called it off on the assurance given by police officials.”
Ballia was the worst affected district since protesters set bogies of the Sealdah Express on fire, vandalised railway property and then attacked shops and kiosks outside the station.
Job aspirants pelted stones at a government bus in Agra, triggering deployment of additional police personnel to control the situation. In Firozabad, protesters vandalised roadways buses.
Youth also gathered along the Agra-Delhi highway, seeking the revival of the old recruitment policy in the armed forces. Traffic was blocked for several hours on this route.
Agra Senior Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Kumar Singh, said: “A large number of students come to Agra to prepare for exams through coaching centres. These job aspirants reached here and blocked the road.”
In Rae Bareli and Gonda, the protesters raised slogans and blocked traffic.
The Agnipath scheme was announced on June 14 to recruit jawans into the Army, Navy and the Air Force for a four-year period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.
Under the new policy, 25 per cent of the jawans would get a chance for permanent recruitment on the basis of their performance.
