Bihar Opposition parties walk out from Assembly over Agnipath scheme

The opposition parties in Bihar have decided to stay away from the proceedings of the Assembly after Speaker Vijay Sinha refused to give them time for a discussion on the Agnipath scheme.

The opposition parties, including the RJD, CPI, CPM, CPI (ML), led by Leader of Opposition and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav walked out from the Assembly on Tuesday.

They staged a protest before former Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur's statue inside the Assembly premises.

Congress and AIMIM leaders were also not present inside the House.

"We have met the Speaker of the House Vijay Sinha and pointed out our concern to him. We have said that the Agnipath scheme is not good for the youth. The Centre has brought this scheme to put the future of youth of the country at risk. The Narendra Modi government is playing with the future of youth," Tejashwi said.

"We demanded at least five minutes to discuss this issue. The Speaker refused to give us time and said that the matter concerns the Centre. The Speaker is an independent body which does not belong to any particular party. He represents every party in the House. It was disheartening when he turned down our call," he added.

"During the Agnipath protest, a large number of students were booked and arrested by the police. A number of coaching institutions are facing closure threats. We want to say that violence was not right to raise objections to the Agnipath scheme. There was disappointment among students about this scheme which may trigger violence," the RJD leader said.

"Those who were booked or lodged in jails are also the sons of our motherland. They want to serve the country. We want to release them from jail and withdraw FIRs against them," Tejashwi added.

"The BJP leaders are projecting this scheme as a good move by the Centre. If it is pleasing for them then why not implement it for government officers and recruit them under a contract for four years," he said.