Owaisi counters NSA Ajit Doval's Agnipath assurance; 'When decision is wrong, reverse it'

After Ajit Doval spoke extensively on the Agnipath recruitment scheme, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that after the Tri-Services, the National Security Advisor has been roped in by the central government to defend the 'indefensible'. Taking to Twitter, the Member of Parliament in a purported reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he does not have the 'courage' to own his decisions, and was 'hiding' behind others. 

"When the decision is wrong, it should be reversed. The youths are the future of the country and the Prime Minister should have the good sense to listen to them. Cancel this scheme for short-term contractual recruitment now," the Parliamentarian from Hyderabad wrote. 

'So the NSA Sahab agrees...'

During the interview with ANI, NSA Doval had said Agniveers, the recruits from the Agnipath scheme, will never constitute the whole Army. Doval had said that those Agniveers who become regulars eventually will 'undergo intensive training, acquire experience' over a period of time.

Sharing a video clip of the particular statement, Owaisi said, "So the NSA Sahab agrees that the short-term contractual soldiers are poorly trained and will not be in the same class as those recruited as regular soldiers till now. And if only 25% are taken as regulars, won’t the bulk of our Army be made it contracted soldiers."

'How does having poorly trained soldiers help the Army?

NSA Doval had also talked about how the whole world is undergoing a 'great change'. Doval had opined that the world was moving towards ''contactless wars'' and ''wars against the invisible enemy'', with technology taking over at a rapid pace.

On this, the AIMIM chief asked the NSA via Twitter, "How does having poorly trained soldiers for short period on contract help the army to be better prepared for modern wars? The idea should be that modern technology needs better soldiers, and not do the reverse."

What is the Agnipath Recruitment scheme?

Under the Agnipath scheme, Agniveers would be recruited in a four-year tenure in all the cadres - Army, Air Force, and Navy. Under this scheme, almost 46,000 youth will be recruited in 2022, and the number of recruits could go up by 5,000 every year. Soldiers will be getting a monthly salary of around Rs 30,000-40,000. The recruitment is scheduled to begin in around 90 days, and beneficiaries will also be entitled to awards, medals, and insurance.

Under the scheme, the first four years will not be taken into consideration for fixing the final pensionary benefits. After 4 years, upto 25% will be retained or re-enlisted in the regular cadre based on merit, willingness, and medical fitness. The remaining 75% will be eligible for ‘Seva Nidhi’ packages of Rs 11–12 lakh, and will be provided with skill certificates and bank loans for their second career.