Agniveer with 6-month training won't last against Chinese soldier; Army wants to scrap scheme: Rahul
Shahdol, Apr 8: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP government at the Centre over the Agnipath scheme, saying an Agniveer recruit who has undergone training for just six months will become a martyr in combat against a Chinese soldier, who is trained for five years.
Addressing an election rally in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol, Gandhi claimed the "Agniveer Yojana" was conceptualised by the prime minister but the Army doesn't want this scheme.
After coming to power, the Congress will abolish this short-term recruitment scheme for inducting soldiers, he said.
"Earlier, poor people used to join the sena (read Army). They (soldiers) used to get a pension and martyr status. The facility of the canteen was also available to them. Now they (Centre) say we are producing Agniveers by recruiting say four youths (under the scheme) and training them for six months," the Congress MP said.
He wondered how an Agniveer could face a trained Chinese soldier.
"Chinese soldiers will come after undergoing (combat) training for five years. You can understand the result. Our son (Agniveer) will be martyred. Then we will be told that he won't get the status of martyr because he is Agniveer. You will neither get the canteen facility nor a pension.
"But the person he (Agniveer) will fight will say that 'brother, you don't get a pension, you don't get canteen facility, you will not get the status of martyr either. But I am getting a canteen facility and will also get a pension. I will also get the martyr status'," Gandhi said.
He said if Congress comes to power, it will scrap the Agniveer scheme.
In June 2022, the government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel to bring down the age profile of the three services.
It provides for recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.
The Congress in its manifesto "Nyay Patra" has promised to abolish the Agnipath/Agniveer scheme.
Gandhi also claimed the sena was not in favour of this scheme.
"If you ask the Army whether they want Agniveer (scheme), they will say they don't want this scheme. This scheme is causing loss to us as well as the country. The Agniveer Yojana was conceptualised by the prime minister and a decision was taken by the PMO. The Army is against this scheme," he claimed.
Had the sena wanted the Agnipath scheme, I would have never said from the stage that we would abolish it.
"The sena wants Agniveer Yojana to be cancelled and we are going to scrap it," he added.
Gandhi also listed various promises mentioned in the Congress manifesto for women, youths, farmers and the poor.
He reiterated the Congress' commitment to the caste-based census which he said would be a "social X-ray".
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Tribal man brings dead sister's skeleton to bank to withdraw money from her account
Keonjhar (PTI): A tribal man in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Monday brought the skeleton of his dead sister to a bank to withdraw the money deposited in her name, police said.
The incident occurred at Maliposi branch of Odisha Grameen Bank located at Patana block of Keonjhar district. The man was identified as Jeetu Munda (50) of Dianali village. He was seeking to withdraw Rs 20,000 from the bank account of his elder sister, Kalra Munda (56), who died on January 26, 2026.
"I have run several times to the bank, and the people there told me to bring the account holder to withdraw money deposited in her name. Though I told them that she had died, they did not listen to me and insisted on bringing her to the bank. Therefore, out of frustration, I dug the grave and brought out her skeleton as proof of her death," an illiterate Jeetu Munda told reporters.
Patana Police Station Inspector in charge (IIC) Kiran Prasad Sahu, who reached the bank after getting information, said, "Jeetu is an illiterate tribal man. He does not know what the legal heir or nominee is. The bank officials have failed to make him understand the procedure to withdraw money from the dead person's account."
However, after the incident, the police assured Jeetu Munda that they would facilitate the withdrawal of money from the bank account of his dead sister. Later, the skeleton was again buried at the graveyard in presence of police.
Meanwhile, local Block Development Officer (BDO) Manas Dandpat said that he was not approached by anyone for the legal heir of late Kalra Munda. "Today only, I came to know about it. We will see what can be done to resolve the issue," the BDO said.
Meanwhile, bank sources said that the nominee in Kalra Munda's bank account was also dead. Therefore, Jeetu Munda was the lone claimant over the money deposited in her name.
The local administration has directed the bank officers to make arrangements and ensure that Jeetu Munda, who is the only claimant as per the rules, gets the money as soon as possible.
