“Soldiers Have Become Like Labourers”: Rahul Gandhi On Army Scheme Agniveer

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said today that the Agniveer scheme will be discarded entirely if his party comes to power.

Addressing a public meeting in Haryana’s Mahendragarh, Rahul Gandhi claimed, “PM Narendra Modi has made the jawans (soldiers) of India like labourers…The Army doesn’t want the Agniveer scheme. It’s a scheme made by PMO. Once Congress comes to power we will discard the scheme entirely.”

In his first election meeting in the state, he claimed, “They (the BJP) say there will be two types of martyrs – one normal jawan (soldier) and officer, who will get a pension, martyr status, all facilities and on the other hand, a person from a poor family who has been named Agniveer. Agniveers will neither get martyr status, no pension, no canteen facility.”

Appealing to the youth, Rahul Gandhi said, “The youth of Haryana feels proud to be selected for the Army.”

Taking the cause of protesting farmers, he said, “The farmers of Haryana work in the fields of the country; the Modi government snatched away your rights and abolished the Land Tribunal Bill,” he said, adding that “Then three (farm) laws came, but the government had to step back.”

“On June 4, when we come to power, we will waive farmers’ debt. As far as farm debt waiver is concerned, we will bring a ‘karza maafi’ (debt waiver) commission,” Rahul Gandhi added.

Ten Lok Sabha seats in the state are going to polls on May 25.