Rahul raises questions on Agnipath scheme, asks why life of one soldier is not same as another
New Delhi, Oct 13: After the death of two Agniveers in Nashik during training, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on why the life of one soldier is more valuable than the other.
He asked why the families of the two soldiers, who died as 'Agniveers' would not get the same pension and benefits as other martyred soldiers and said that he would keep fighting against this "injustice".
"The death of two Agniveers - Gohil Vishwaraj Singh and Saifat Sheet - during training in Nashik is very tragic. My deepest condolences to their families.
"This incident once again raises serious questions on the Agniveer scheme, which the BJP government has failed to answer. Will the families of Gohil and Saifat receive timely compensation that is equivalent to the compensation for any other martyred soldier?" Gandhi asked in a post in Hindi on X.
"Why will the families of Agniveers not get the benefits of pension and other government facilities? When the responsibilities and sacrifices of both the soldiers are the same, then why this discrimination after their martyrdom?" he asked.
The Congress leader said the Agneepath scheme is an "injustice" to the army and an "insult "to the martyrdom of our brave soldiers.
"The prime minister and the defence minister should answer why the life of one soldier is more valuable than that of another soldier," Gandhi said.
"Let's stand together against this injustice. Join our 'Jai Jawan' movement today to remove the BJP government's 'Agniveer' scheme and secure the future of the country's youth and army," he said.
Agniveers Gohil and Saifat died during a field firing exercise in Maharashtra's Nashik district.
Several people paid their last respects to Agniveer Vishvarajsinh Gohil, whose mortal remains were received at his native Anchvad village in Gujarat's Rajkot district.
नासिक में ट्रेनिंग के दौरान दो अग्निवीर - गोहिल विश्वराजसिंह और सैफत शित - का निधन एक दर्दनाक घटना है। उनके परिवारों के प्रति मेरी गहरी संवेदनाएं हैं।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 13, 2024
यह घटना एक बार फिर अग्निवीर योजना पर गंभीर सवाल उठाती है, जिनका जवाब देने में BJP सरकार असफल रही है।
- क्या गोहिल और सैफत के…
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In engineering feat, mechanical SpaceX arms catch Starship rocket booster back at launch pad
Washington, Oct 13: SpaceX pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket on Sunday, catching the returning booster back at the launch pad with mechanical arms.
A jubilant Elon Musk called it “science fiction without the fiction part”.
Towering almost 400 feet (121 metres), the empty Starship blasted off at sunrise from the southern tip of Texas near the Mexican border. It arced over the Gulf of Mexico like the four Starships before it that ended up being destroyed, either soon after liftoff or while ditching into the sea. The previous one in June had been the most successful until Sunday's demo, completing its flight without exploding.
This time, Musk, SpaceX's CEO and founder, upped the challenge for the rocket that he plans to use to send people back to the moon and on to Mars.
At the flight director's command, the first-stage booster flew back to the launch pad where it had blasted off seven minutes earlier. The launch tower's monstrous metal arms, dubbed chopsticks, caught the descending 232-foot (71-metre) booster and gripped it tightly, dangling it well above the ground.
“The tower has caught the rocket!!” Musk announced via X. “Big step towards making life multiplanetary was made today.”
Company employees screamed in joy, jumping and pumping their fists into the air as the stainless steel booster slowly lowered itself into the launch tower's arms. NASA joined in the celebration, with Administrator Bill Nelson sending congratulations.
“Even in this day and age, what we just saw is magic,” SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot observed from near the launch site. “I am shaking right now.”
“Folks, this is a day for the engineering history books,” added engineering manager Kate Tice from SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
An hour later, the empty spacecraft that was launched atop the booster made a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean as planned, adding to the day's achievement.
It was up to the flight director to decide, in real time with a manual control, whether to attempt the landing. SpaceX said both the booster and launch tower had to be in good, stable condition. Otherwise, it was going to end up in the gulf like the previous ones. Everything was judged to be ready for the catch.
The retro-looking stainless steel spacecraft on top continued around the world once it was free of the booster. Cameras on a buoy in the Indian Ocean showed flames shooting up from the water as the booster impacted precisely at the targeted spot and sank, as planned.
“What a day,” Huot said. “Let's get ready for the next one.”
The June flight came up short at the end after pieces came off. SpaceX upgraded the software and reworked the heat shield, improving the thermal tiles.
SpaceX has been recovering the first-stage boosters of its smaller Falcon 9 rockets for nine years, after delivering satellites and crews to orbit from Florida or California. But they land on floating ocean platforms or on concrete slabs several miles from their launch pads — not on them.
Recycling Falcon boosters has sped up the launch rate and saved SpaceX millions. Musk intends to do the same for Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built with 33 methane-fuel engines on the booster alone. NASA has ordered two Starships to land astronauts on the moon later this decade. SpaceX intends to use Starship to send people and supplies to the moon and, eventually Mars.
Booster starts in top right corner. Watch to the end. Sound on pic.twitter.com/jS70tHLNcr
— 𝙺𝚒𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚔 🤠 (@kimbal) October 13, 2024
