Youths have 'many doubts, questions' on Agnipath: BJP MP Varun Gandhi

BJP Lok Sabha member Varun Gandhi on Wednesday raised questions on the newly announced Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers into the armed forces, saying a government is elected for five years then why are youths being given four years to serve the nation.

Taking to Twitter, the Pilibhit MP, who has often been taking a divergent view from the party on various issues, shared a video of youngsters expressing their concerns about the transformative scheme that the government had on Tuesday unveiled for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

Personnel will be recruited largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis, in a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to bring in fitter and younger troops to deal with future security challenges facing the nation.

Sharing the remuneration details of the new recruitment scheme for defence forces, Varun Gandhi in a tweet invited opinions about this plan while adding that there are many "questions and doubts" in the minds of the youths regarding the Agnipath scheme.

Citing the video of youngsters who responded to his tweet, he said even government is elected for five years then why only youths are being given four years to serve the nation.

Meanwhile, the BJP-led government at the Centre on Wednesday announced a raft of post-retirement employment possibilities for 'Agniveer' like priority in recruitment to the central armed police forces (CAPF) and Assam rifles.

However, it failed to assuage the concerns of the opposition Congress which warned the scheme will reduce the operational effectiveness of the armed forces.