Deliberate attempts being made to create confusion against Agnipath scheme: Union minister

Amid widespread protests against the Agnipath recruitment model, Union minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said deliberate attempts are being made to create confusion against a "fabulous and far-sighted" scheme. The minister also said that the scheme was rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the unemployed youth after "long and careful" deliberations.

"Agnipath will provide the youth an opportunity to get employed and also serve the nation. However, a deliberate attempt is being made to create confusion that the scheme will ruin the previous arrangement of recruitment in the armed forces," Singh told PTI.

Allaying apprehensions of the youth, the minister of state in the prime minister's office said the scheme should be seen as a supplementation to the recruitment process.

"The scheme provides unemployed youth an opportunity to serve in armed forces for four years. Some of them will get permanent jobs (after four years) and those who are out, will get priority in other fields through finance and other support," he said on the sidelines of a function at Patnitop hill resort in his home constituency of Udhampur.

Earlier, the minister addressed a workshop 'Prashikshan Varg' by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to educate party activists about its core ideology and principles and dwelt on the achievements of the Modi government in the last eight years.

He said despite various challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the prime minister took the country to new heights of development which is evident from the fact that the world now perceives India as a global leader.