Security, youth's future in danger: Rahul Gandhi on Agnipath

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday took on the Centre over the newly introduced Agnipath military recruitment scheme, saying the country's security and the future of the youth are in danger with this "new experiment" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "laboratory".

Sixty soldiers retire every year, out of which only 3,000 are getting government jobs, Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"What will be the future of thousands of 'Agniveers' retiring after 4-year contracts," the former Congress chief asked.


"With this new experiment of the Prime Minister's laboratory, both the security of the country and the future of the youth are in danger," Gandhi said.


The Indian Navy has received 3.03 lakh applications under the Agnipath military recruitment scheme till Friday, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday.

The Indian Navy had on July 2 begun the recruitment process under the scheme.

"A total of 3,03,328 applications received so far for Agniveer in the Indian Navy...3,03,328 applications received as on July 22," a Defence Ministry spokesperson tweeted.

Under the Agnipath scheme, youths between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure, while 25 per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.

The scheme was unveiled on June 14, following which there were violent protests against it in several states for nearly a week and several opposition parties demanded its rollback.

(With agency inputs)