Jaipur: The Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) on Thursday staged protests against the newly-launched 'Agnipath' scheme of the Centre at all the district headquarters and many sub-divisional and tehsil headquarters of Rajasthan, including in Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer, among other places.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the youth to serve in the armed forces. Soldiers recruited under the scheme will be inducted into the armed forces as 'Agniveers'.
The 'Agnipath' model will foresee the recruitment of personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in army, air force and navy for four years, including six months of training.
RLP convener and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal was present at the Jaipur headquarters where he submitted a memorandum against the scheme in the name of the President through the district administration.
The memorandum said that while the Defence Minister said that the Agnipath scheme will infuse new energy into the armed forces besides creating employment opportunities for the youth, the truth is that this action plan of contract-based recruitment is not in the interest of the country, its people or the Indian Army.
So the government should reconsider its decision, it said.
Beniwal said that similar protests will spread across the country, and the way the Centre had to take back the farm laws, it will also have to roll back the Agnipath scheme.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at many protest sites across the state, and the police at some venues had to even resort to lathi charge to disperse the agitators.
In Jodhpur, RLP workers were seen raising slogans outside the District Collector's office where a memorandum was submitted under the leadership of RLP state unit chief Pukhraj Garg.
A few protesters smashed the window-pane of a police vehicle on the Circuit House Road, but they were soon chased away by the cops.
In Barmer, several youth took to the streets responding to the RLP's call for protest. Under the leadership of Zilla Parishad member Ummedaram Beniwal, a memorandum was submitted to the District Collector demanding withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.
The protesters also clashed with the police, forcing the latter to resort to lathi charge. The youth could be seen trying to block the passage of trains by burning tyres.
Protests were also seen in Ajmer and Sikar, where a large number of youth took to the streets under the banner of RLP.
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