Centre offers clarification as agitations against Army’s new recruitment scheme spread

Agnipath Protests Live Updates: Trains were set afire, rail and road traffic disputed, window panes of buses smashed, and passers-by, including a ruling BJP MLA, pelted with stones as the protests spread to multiple states across the country.

New Delhi: Protests against the Armed Forces’ new recruitment plan Agnipath turned violent Thursday as aspirants disrupted rail and road traffic in several parts of Bihar, Haryana, New Delhi, Jammu and Jharkhand. Agnipath is the Central Government’s new recruitment policy for the defence forces under which about 45,000 people between the age of 17.5 years and 21 years will be inducted into the services for a four-year tenure. Protesters have been demanding the reinstatement of the previous recruitment system.

Trains were set afire, rail and road traffic disputed, window panes of buses smashed, and passers-by, including a ruling BJP MLA, pelted with stones as the protests spread to multiple states across the country. Protests were also seen at Delhi’s Nangloi Railway Station as aspirants stopped trains demanding a rollback of the decision. Similar scenes were also seen in Jammu where the police resorted to lathicharge  outside the Army’s recruitment office at B C Road as hundreds of protestors blocked the busy Tawi bridge disrupting vehicular traffic. Hundreds of young people also took to the streets in Haryana’s Gurugram, Rewari and Palwal against the scheme. A police vehicle was damaged in stone pelting in Palwal and the Agra Chowk on National Highway 19 was blocked.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to pacify the protesters, the Central Government released a “Myths vs Facts” document addressing the concerns raised on the recruitment plan. The government has said that those wishing to be entrepreneurs after their service as Agniveers will get a financial package and bank loan scheme and those wishing to study further will be given a 12th Class equivalent certificate and a bridging course for further studies, and those who want salaried jobs will be given priority in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and state police