The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hopeful that the Centre’s decision to extend the tenure of Agniveers by two more years will help counter criticism of the contentious scheme in states heading for assembly elections next year, particularly those with a high number of armed forces recruits, party leaders said.
Centre-Opposition narrative play
“There are belts in Punjab, Uttarakhand and UP where the population predominantly consists of armed forces personnel, both serving and retired. A job in the fauj (armed forces) is considered a stable and honourable profession and families take pride in their sons wearing the uniform. This announcement will surely help blunt the anger against the government and the anti-incumbency against the state government.
Therefore, the narrative against the scheme is critical,” the leader quoted above said. “The Opposition managed to make Agnipath a key political issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “We have approximately 120,000 ex-servicemen in Uttarakhand.
In several states such as Haryana, Rajasthan and UP, the Opposition’s narrative against the scheme and the fear they stoked about changes being made to the Constitution had huge traction and the BJP’s margins and seats came down…” said a senior party functionary, who did not wish to be named. Recruitment in government jobs and employment avenues is a pressing issue in the state,” a state leader said.
Also Read I Cabinet gives Agniveers two-year service extension, announces CDS Opposition parties, including the Congress, had called for scrapping Agnipath scheme and restoring the earlier recruitment system, which offered longer tenures, medical benefits and pensions.
