Twitter Party Congress Protests Against Agnipath Diktat of Modi Government
Congress complains that Modi and his government make random announcements like dictatorial diktats without discussing the issues with the stakeholders or the opposition parties.
By Rakesh Raman
An Indian opposition party Congress – which usually sits on Twitter to express its dissent – has suddenly come out in the open to protest against the cruel Agnipath scheme being imposed on job seekers by the government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi.
A few lazy Congress leaders assembled today (June 19) at Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi to criticize the Agnipath scheme, which has led to violent protests across the country.
Congress complains that Modi and his government make random announcements like dictatorial diktats without discussing the issues with the stakeholders or the opposition parties.
They give the examples of previous despotic decisions of Modi which have caused extreme disaster in the country. For example, Modi’s abrupt demonetization decision brought financial chaos in the country.
The sudden Covid lockdown announcement on TV by Modi – who behaves like a dictator – is usually considered a crime against humanity as it rendered millions of migrant workers homeless on the roads. Moreover, nearly 5 million people died in India because of Modi’s reckless handling of Covid calamity.
Similarly, the imposition of farm laws led to massive protests against Modi by farmers across the country. After over a year of protests by farmers, Modi cancelled the farm laws with a TV monologue.
Now, similarly, Modi has released the ill-conceived Agnipath scheme. Reports suggest that the protesters have set on fire dozens of trains since the protests began on June 15 and now the violence is spreading in several states of India.
LIVE: Congress Party leaders sit on ‘Satyagraha’ against the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.#SatyagrahaAgainstAgnipath
— Congress (@INCIndia) June 19, 2022
The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force was announced by the service chiefs on June 14 in the presence of defence minister Rajnath Singh.
The scheme is being promoted by the Modi government as a major overhaul of the obsolete selection process to improve the youthful profile of the three services.
In order to placate the protesters, the government increased the upper-age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21 years for the year 2022.
However, the protests continue. Angry protesters are burning trains and attacking public and police vehicles in different states. At least one person died and 15 others were injured in Secunderabad, Telangana, as protests spread to southern India.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.
