NPCC demands roll back of ‘Agnipath scheme’

With massive protest across the country against the Centre’s decision to implement ‘Agnipath’ scheme for the recruitment in the defence forces, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC) has demanded the roll back of the scheme until the government comes up with a better plan for the future of the youth.
NPCC president K. Therie said Agnipath should be withdrawn instead of simply adopting a wait-and-watch policy on the outcomes of the scheme. Stating that the scheme would destroy the future of the youth at their prime age of learning, Therie said that 75% of the proposed ‘Agniveers’ would be unemployed by their mid 20s with low educational qualifications, which would end up destroying their future prospects.
Moreover, he said the intended benefit (Seva Nidhi Package) for approximately 12 lakhs could not be termed as “an adequate resource to sustain lifelong livelihood” and that the 75% of Agniveers could not be left with an uncertain future after making huge sacrifices for the country.
He also pointed out the possibility of candidates who would be trained as Agniveers and complete service but end up in “fringe elements and organisations” which will be detrimental to the interests of the nation.
Therie said four years (inclusive of just about 6 months training), along with the current leave was also not adequate to build a strong battle worthy army with camaraderie. He said the army relied to a great extent on this trait which could only be built with time. As soldiers normally require years to train, he said six months training would mean a “short cut in training” and would definitely have serious compromises on a force tasked with defense of the nation.