Kargil Vijay Diwas takes political turn as Modi, Congress trade barbs over Agnipath scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 26 said the Agnipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms undertaken by the Army and accused the opposition of playing politics over the recruitment process aimed at keeping the average age in armed forces young.

In his address on Kargil Vijay Diwas in Drass to mark the 25th anniversary of victory in the Kargil War, Modi said some people were playing politics over a sensitive issue related to national security and rubbished claims that the Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money.

"The aim of Agnipath is to make the forces young.The aim of Agnipath is to keep the armies continuously fit for war," he said.

"Unfortunately, such a sensitive issue related to national security has been made a subject of politics by some people. Some people are playing politics of lies for their personal interests even on this reform of the army," he said.

The prime minister said the Angipath scheme is an example of necessary reforms done by the army.

"For decades, there have been discussions in Parliament and various committees on making the armed forces younger. The average age of Indian soldiers being higher than the global average has been a matter of concern," he added.

He said this issue was raised in many committees for years but the will to resolve this national security challenge was not shown earlier.

"The country has addressed this concern through the Agnipath scheme," he said.

Hitting out at the opposition, Modi said, "These are the same people who weakened our forces by committing scams worth thousands of crores in the forces."

He said these people did not want the Indian Air Force to get modern fighter jets and they had "made preparations to lock the Tejas fighter plane in a box."

The Agnipath scheme was launched in 2022 to recruit personnel for short-term service in the armed forces. However, the Agniveers are not entitled to benefits that regular military personnel get like pensions for their families in case of death in the line of duty.

The prime minister rubbished the claims that the Agnipath scheme was launched to save pension money.

"Some people are also spreading the misconception that the government has come up with this scheme to save pension money. I want to ask such people, the question of pension for today's recruits will arise after 30 years. Why would the government take a decision today," he asked.

Modi said his government has respected the decision taken by the forces as “for us the security of the country is paramount, not politics.”

"Those who are misleading the youth of the country… history is witness to the fact that they do not care about the soldiers. These are the same people who lied about One Rank One Pension by showing ₹500 crore. It is our government which implemented One Rank One Pension and gave more than ₹1.25 lakh crore to ex-servicemen," he added.

Congress, on the other hand, accused Modi of raking up his government's political agenda by defending the Agnipath scheme at an event to honor heroes of the Kargil War.

“It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X. “No Prime Minister has ever done this before.”

“Modi ji, it is you who are spreading LIES! Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ and 25% people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces,” Kharge wrote.

“According to news reports, Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt has stalled from being published, has also said that the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a ”bolt out of the blue"!" he said, adding that many former officers are demanding that the scheme should be scrapped.

“All this is on record. Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no liberalized family pension, and no education allowance for their children,” Kharge said.

Karti Chidambaram, a Congress leader, echoed the same sentiments.

“Agniveer scheme should be scrapped. Modern warfare requires fully-trained soldiers, and the scheme does not give full-trained soldiers. The Agniveer scheme does not solve the needs of the Army,” Chidambram told a news channel.

“The Indian Army has a glorious past and should not be politicized. We salute the Army and not the other way around,” he added.

Sukhjinder Singh Randhwa, another Congress leader, seconded Chidambaram, asking the government what would happen to the Agniveers once they retire after 4.5 years of service.

“(The) PM is saying that we are spreading confusion. He is speaking about what will happen after 30 years. He should talk about what will happen after 4 years to these Agniveers,” Randhawa said.

(PTI inputs)