Congress says Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers poorly conceived, should be kept in abeyance

New Delhi [India], June 16 : The Congress said on Thursday that the Agnipath scheme to recruit soldiers into the three defence forces, is "controversial, carries multiple risks, subverts the long-standing traditions" and demanded that it should be held in abeyance.
Addressing a press conference here, senior Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the announcements by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education on post-discharge opportunities of Agniveers appear to be after-thoughts and show that the scheme is "poorly conceived and hastily drawn up".
He urged the government to hold wide consultations and address issues of quality, efficiency and economy.
"It is our duty to warn the country of the consequences of a hastily drawn up scheme. We would urge the government to keep the Agnipath scheme in abeyance, hold wide consultations with serving and retired officers, and address the issues of quality, efficiency and economy without compromising on any of the three considerations," he said.
Referring to the situation in the borders, Chidambaram said it is imperative that "we have soldiers in our defence forces who are young, well-trained, motivated, happy, satisfied and assured of their future. The Agnipath scheme does not advance any of these objectives".
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved Agnipath recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the armed forces. The selected youth under this scheme will be known as Agniveers. They are to be enrolled under respective Service Acts for four years.
Recruitment rallies will commence in 90 days and 46,000 Agniveers to be recruited this year.

Chidambaram said it appears that the scheme "makes a mockery of training; inducts into the defence forces an ill-trained and ill-motivated soldier and discharges a disappointed and unhappy ex-soldier into the society".

"It is a matter of great concern that the government has announced a scheme called Agnipath to recruit 46,000 soldiers to the three defence forces. The Agnipath scheme is controversial, carries multiple risks, subverts the long-standing traditions and ethos of the armed forces and there is no guarantee that the soldiers recruited under the scheme will be better trained and motivated to defend the country," Chidambaram said.
"We have read and heard the views expressed by retired defence officers. Almost unanimously, they have opposed the scheme and we believe that many serving officers share the same reservations about the scheme," he added.
Chidambaram, who was accompanied by some other party leaders including Ajay Maken and Sachin Pilot, said the party's first concern is that the Agnipath soldier will be trained for six months and will serve for another 42 months when 75 per cent of the recruits will be discharged.
"The age of recruitment -- 17 to 21 years -- raises numerous questions. A large part of our youth will be totally excluded from serving in the defence forces."
He said the stated objective of savings on the pension bill is a weak argument and has not been established beyond doubt.
"On the other hand, the short period of training (6 months) and the unusually short period of service (42 months) may have negative consequences on quality, efficiency and effectiveness. We fear that the scheme may turn out to be a case of 'penny wise and security foolish'," he said.
The Congress leaders asked the government to heed the warnings of officers.
"Several distinguished defence officers have pointed out that a fighting soldier must take pride in his unit; must be willing to lay down his life for his country and comrades; must not be risk averse; and must be capable of exhibiting leadership. They fear that each one of these objectives will be in jeopardy under the scheme," Chidambaram said.
He said a major change in recruitment policy should have tried and tested as a pilot scheme.
"The announcements by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education on post-discharge opportunities appear to be after-thoughts. They show that the scheme was poorly conceived and hastily drawn up. A major change in the mode of recruitment should have been examined thoroughly and a pilot scheme should have been tried and tested. Nothing of that sort has been done," the minister said.
"Several experts have suggested alternative models to address the issues of inadequate recruitment to the defence forces. There is no indication that the alternatives were examined," he added.