CPI MP Binoy Viswam writes to PM Modi, urges him to reconsider Agnipath scheme

Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urging him to reconsider the Agnipath recruitment scheme stating that the government has rolled out the scheme to 'bring in temporary soldiers' to our defence forces.

In a letter, Binoy Viswam said, "I write this letter to you for your kind reconsideration of the Agnipath scheme which the government has rolled out to bring in temporary soldiers to our defence forces."

"The concerns with the proposed scheme are at multiple levels. Primarily, the scheme will be unfair towards the youth of our country, especially for those in the rural areas, as the army will recruit people on a four-year contract basis which does not make them eligible for pension schemes as well as other benefits available in the permanent army," Viswam said.

The CPI MP further said that the future of Army aspirants is also at stake as 75 per cent of the recruits will be forced to take a compulsory retirement post four years of their service, leaving them unemployed without work at a tender age.

"Another issue with the scheme has to do with professionalism in our forces, affectingtheir ethos, discipline and fighting spirit, which could also in turn potentially lead tothe militarization of civil society," he added.

The CPI MP from Kerala urged the Prime Minister to rethink and consider the decision of rolling out the scheme.

"Given the circumstances, I earnestly request you to intervene and have a rethink onthe matter and consider the repealing of the said act so that the concerns of the youthare taken into account and also the operational effectiveness of our armed forces are kept intact," he said.

The AGNIPATH Scheme has been designed to enable a youthful profile of the Armed Forces and provide a fresh lease of 'Josh' and 'Jazba' whilst at the same time bringing about a transformational shift towards a more tech-savvy Armed Forces - which is indeed the need of the hour, the defence ministry highlighted.

(ANI)

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