Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi hit out at the Centre for drafting 'ill thought out' policies that have led to protests and violence in the country. The Shiv Sena leader was referring to the spiralling protests against Agnipath army recruitment scheme.
Taking to Twitter, Chaturvedi listed schemes such as Land Acquisition, 2015, Demonetisation, 2016 and Farm Act, 2021 and Agnipath scheme and said, "When one sits in ivory tower and drafts policy in the belief that only they know what the nation needs. Ill-thought out policy leading to chaos, violence and unrest in the country."
- Land Acquisition, 2015
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 17, 2022
- Demonetisation, 2016
- Farm Act, 2021
- Agneepath Recruitment Scheme, 2022
When one sits in ivory tower and drafts policy in the belief that only they know what the nation needs. Ill thought out policy leading to chaos, violence&unrest in the country
The Centre on Wednesday unveiled the Agnipath scheme that ensures a four-year term for aspirants in the defence forces, but without gratuity or pension. This led to protests in several parts of the country. The youth agitation has since turned violent in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with agitators setting buses on fire and smashing window panes of public transport buses.
In Bihar, a mob attacked the residence of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi and torched a BJP office in Nawada. MLA Aruna Devi, also got injured when her car was pelted with stones.
A person died and over 15 were injured in Telangana's Secunderabad as violent protests spread to the southern state.
In Uttar Pradesh, a mob entered a railway station in Ballia and set a train coach on fire, and also damaged railway station property before the police fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
I can understand the anger & resentment at growing joblessness amongst the youth but registering that protest by damaging public property is unacceptable. Hope sense prevails and concerns can be addressed. #AgnipathRecruitmentScheme
— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 17, 2022
"I can understand the anger and resentment at growing joblessness amongst the youth, but registering that protest by damaging public property is unacceptable. Hope sense prevails and concerns can be addressed," Chaturvedi added.
Protesters are unhappy with the changes, such as no pension provisions for those released early and the age restriction that now makes many of them ineligible. Following protests, the age limit for Agnipath recruitment has now been raised to 23 from 21 for the year 2022.
Amid the stir, the Centre has also announced that the process of recruitment under the Agnipath scheme will start in a few days.
The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.