SP, BSP slam Centre over Agnipath scheme

The Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party have slammed the Centre over the 'Agnipath' scheme, claiming that it was introduced in haste.

BSP supremo Mayawati expressed in a tweet on Monday that "The new Agnipath scheme has taken the country by surprise and is being implemented in haste like demonetisation and lockdown, which affected crores of youths and their families and there is anger among them. The government should avoid having an arrogant attitude."

She criticised the 'unrestrained statements' by BJP leaders and the 'narrow-minded politics' of spreading confusion among the people and creating difficulties for the Army.

The SP's Akhilesh Yadav also took to Twitter to condemn the scheme.

"The youths are feeling disappointed and there is also a feeling of fear and insecurity towards their future. This will prove to be fatal for the country's development. The responsibility of the government is to improve the present and shape up the country's future. The opposition to the BJP from all sides shows it has lost its support base," he tweeted.

The Centre had last week unveiled the Agnipath scheme to recruit youngsters aged between 17-and-a-half and 21 years in the Army, Navy and Air Force, largely on a four-year contract. It later relaxed the upper age limit for this year's recruitment to 23 years.