PDP holds protest against Agnipath scheme in Jammu; demands its rollback
Jammu: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) staged a protest demonstration here on Wednesday, demanding immediate rollback of the recently launched Agnipath military recruitment scheme.
Scores of PDP activists came out of the party headquarters at Gandhi Nagar and started marching towards nearby Jammu-airport road, shouting slogans against the BJP-led central government and in support of the demand for immediate rollback of the Agnipath scheme, officials said.
However, they were stopped by a large posse of police. The participants later returned to the PDP office after staging a peaceful demonstration.
“Our protest is against the Agnipath scheme which has triggered unrest among the youth in the country and led to street protests and arson… We support the demand of the youth for the immediate rollback of the scheme,” PDP spokesperson Varinder Singh Sonu told reporters.
He accused the central government of implementing various schemes and laws without taking people into confidence.
“They are playing with the future of the youth and the security of the nation,” Sonu said and questioned the logic behind drafting such a policy which will render the youth jobless after four years.
The Agnipath scheme, announced by the government on June 14, proposes to recruit soldiers for the armed forces on a short-term contractual basis. The scheme envisages retiring 75 percent of the recruits after four years of service without pension and health benefits, but with a payout package of nearly Rs 11.70 lakh.
