BJP has to take Parliament into confidence before announcing schemes like 'Agnipath', says Mayawati
|HT|
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Sunday reiterated her demand that the Centre rethink its recently announced ‘Agnipath’ scheme for short-term recruitments to the armed forces and that it should take Parliament into confidence before announcing such decisions that impact national security. “I would request the Centre to spare a serious thought for the aggrieved youths of the country and reconsider its decision. Also, I feel that on such issues that impact national security, the Centre must take Parliament into confidence. I would simultaneously also call upon the youths to exercise restraint,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister tweeted.
“At a time when barring a handful, most of the youths are plagued with the ‘Agnipath’ of poverty, inflation and tension, the Centre’s limited offer military recruitment scheme has got the youths disappointed,” she added.
This is the second time that Mayawati has demanded that the Centre reconsider its decision on ‘Agnipath’, a recruitment scheme that offers four years of job to youngsters in the armed forces. The Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh including the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress have already opposed the Agnipath scheme. “Rural youths feel cheated today due to the Centre limiting the recruitment of youths in railways, army and para military forces. They are angry as they discover their prospects bleak. This needs to be tackled correctly,” she added.
On June 16, Mayawati made a series of tweets advising the Centre for a rethink on the scheme that the ruling party leaders have been hailing as ‘pathbreaking.’
Protests against the recruitment scheme have been reported from several parts of the state. At many places these protests have also turned violent. The police have made several arrests in this connection.
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