"Army has a strong feedback system..": Former Lt Gen KJS Dhillon on Agniveer scheme
Aug 02, 2024
Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 2 : Amid the political controversy surrounding the Agniveer Scheme, retired Army professional Lt. Gen. KJS Dhillon stated that the scheme will receive thorough feedback from the Army.
He noted that the Agniveer scheme was implemented after extensive consideration and that the first batch hasn't yet completed its four-year term.
"The Agniveer scheme was introduced after a lot of deliberations. It has just begun, and the first batch has not completed its four years. The Army has a very strong system of feedback. Whatever improvements are needed, the Army does proper deliberations," Gen. Dhillon said.
On political discussions surrounding the scheme, Gen. Dhillon said that these things don't affect the Army.
"The morale of the Army has always been high and will remain high. These things don't affect the Army's morale," he said.
In a fresh attack on the Agniveer scheme, introduced by the Centre in June 2022, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said, "Agniveer is a controversial scheme. Attempts are being made to hide the shortcomings of the Agniveer scheme, and it is a big fraud on the youth of the nation. The scheme is not good for the youth."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in an address to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, asked the opposition to refrain from politicizing the scheme.
"I hope on matters related to the fitness and battle readiness of the Indian Army, we don't do politics. We need young, fit, battle-ready people who are going to be trained. Agniveer is a scheme that we brought in with a great sense of commitment to keep our Armed forces battle-ready and young. One of the expected outcomes of the scheme is that the armed forces will have a much younger force by recruiting those in the age group of 17-21 years. I don't think there is a need for us to unnecessarily worry that this is causing some kind of distortion. Not at all. It is with the acceptance of the armed forces that it has been brought in," Sitharaman said.
