BJP alleges Congress link to Agnipath protest, cites Rahul Gandhi's 'India will burn' quip

In a key development on Sunday, BJP alleged a Congress hand in the incidents of violence during the protests across India against the Agnipath scheme. Taking to Twitter, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya levelled this charge citing former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's speech at the Chintan Shivir in May wherein he predicted that India will burn in the coming days. Moreover, Malviya claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested some Congress leaders who indulged in vandalism during the Agnipath protests. 

Amit Malviya argued, "India will burn- Rahul Gandhi had warned the country from the Congress's Chintan Shivir. He repeated the same thing in London. In UP, many Congress leaders have been arrested by the police for masquerading and indulging in vandalism. The fire is being lit."

Speaking at the Chintan Shivir on May 15, Rahul Gandhi said, "The fight has started now. In the coming time, you will witness that India will burn. Remember this. The more they will break down the institutions, and prevent relations between states and religions, the more fire will burn. I say this clearly. The Congress party's work is to save the country and restart the conversation". Assuring the protesters that Congress will agitate to ensure the withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme, Sonia Gandhi on Saturday urged them to remain peaceful. 

The Agnipath scheme

Amid a freeze on recruitment rallies for two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Union Cabinet approved a new scheme called 'Agnipath' on June 14. Under the aegis of this scheme, 46,000 youths aged between 17.5-21 years would be recruited into the Armed Forces in 2022 for a period of 4 years. This is being touted as a major defence policy reform as only 25% of these Agniveers would be selected for enrollment in the Armed Forces as regular cadres. Apart from an attractive monthly salary, they will be given a one-time ‘SevaNidhi’ package of Rs.11 lakh at the end of their 4-year stint.

However, the Centre's announcement was followed by pan-India protests which witnessed vandalism, torching of railway trains, stone-pelting and attacks on police personnel. In the first attempt to assuage the protesters, the government increased the upper age limit for the recruitment via the Agnipath scheme to 23 years. Thereafter, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced a 10% reservation for Agniveers in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles. Similarly, the Defence Ministry cleared a proposal to reserve 10% of posts for Agniveers in the Indian Coast Guard and all the 16 Defence Public Sector Undertakings.