The Agnipath scheme will be cancelled “as soon as we come to power,” said Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday. This statement came a day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced reservation for retired Agniveers. During his Lok Sabha elections campaign, Yadav had promised to scrap the short-term military recruitment scheme if the INDIA bloc, in which the Samajwadi Party is a constituent, came to power.
In a post, Yadav stated, “As soon as we come to power, the short-term ‘Agniveer’ military recruitment that compromises the security of the country and affects the future of the soldiers will be cancelled within 24 hours.”
Additionally, he emphasized the party’s demand for the reinstatement of the old recruitment model in Hindi. Adityanath, on Friday, mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh government would provide preference to Agniveers who returned from service for recruitment in the police and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC).
The Agnipath scheme, unveiled by the Centre in 2022, aimed at recruiting youths aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 in the Army, Navy, and the Air Force on a four-year contractual basis, and those selected under the scheme would be known as Agniveers.
Following the completion of their four-year tenure, 25 percent of the recruits from each batch would be offered regular service. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs also announced that 10 percent of the vacancies for recruitment in the Central Armed Police Forces or the paramilitary forces would be reserved for ex-Agniveers.
Several state governments have also made similar announcements for the recruitment of retired Agniveers in their respective police forces.