'They'll Be Martyred': Rahul Gandhi Says Agniveers Can't Face Chinese Soldiers

New Delhi: Congress leader stalwart Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday delivered a scathing critique of the central BJP government’s Agnipath scheme, saying that the program, which trains recruits for a mere six months, is grossly inadequate when compared to the five-year training regimen of Chinese soldiers. Gandhi warned of the dire consequences this disparity could bring on the battlefield. Gandhi pledged that a Congress-led government would dismantle the Agnipath scheme, which he described as ill-conceived by the prime minister and rejected by the military establishment. 

"Earlier, poor people used to join the sena (read Army). They (soldiers) used to get a pension and martyr status. The facility of the canteen was also available to them. Now they (Centre) say we are producing Agniveers by recruiting say four youths (under the scheme) and training them for six months," the Congress MP said. He wondered how an Agniveer could face a trained Chinese soldier.

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"Chinese soldiers will come after undergoing (combat) training for five years. You can understand the result. Our son (Agniveer) will be martyred. Then we will be told that he won't get the status of martyr because he is Agniveer. You will neither get the canteen facility nor a pension.

"But the person he (Agniveer) will fight will say that 'brother, you don't get a pension, you don't get canteen facility, you will not get the status of martyr either. But I am getting a canteen facility and will also get a pension. I will also get the martyr status'," Gandhi said. He said if Congress comes to power, it will scrap the Agniveer scheme.

The Agnipath scheme, introduced in June 2022, aims to rejuvenate the armed forces by recruiting young individuals for short stints, with a small fraction retained for longer service. However, Gandhi’s narrative painted a grim picture of the Agniveer’s future, lacking in both recognition and benefits, standing in stark contrast to their adversaries.

The Congress in its manifesto "Nyay Patra" has promised to abolish the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme.
Gandhi also claimed the sena was not in favour of this scheme.

"If you ask the Army whether they want Agniveer (scheme), they will say they don't want this scheme. This scheme is causing loss to us as well as the country. The Agniveer Yojana was conceptualised by the prime minister and a decision was taken by the PMO. The Army is against this scheme," he claimed.
Had the sena wanted the Agnipath scheme, I would have never said from the stage that we would abolish it.

"The sena wants Agniveer Yojana to be cancelled and we are going to scrap it," he added. Gandhi also listed various promises mentioned in the Congress manifesto for women, youths, farmers and the poor. He reiterated the Congress' commitment to the caste-based census which he said would be a "social X-ray".