‘PM Modi clarified it very well… Give the scheme a chance’: Retd Air Marshall SP Singh on Agnipath

Kargil (Ladakh) [India], July 26 (ANI): Retired Air Marshal SP Singh vouched for the Agnipath scheme, which is facing criticism from opposition parties, and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has clarified it very well.

Speaking to ANI on Friday about the scheme, the retired personnel said, “The Prime Minister clarified it very well. I don’t think I would have anything else to say about it. It doesn’t require an explanation because the PM said that it’s a decision taken by the armed forces. Now, I retired 12 years ago, and all this has happened since my retirement. I believe in the very firm principle that I did my bit when I was serving. Now is the chance for our youth, who are taking over those reins from us, to serve the country the way we did.”

Singh said he believes the younger generations always outwit the older ones and they do better.

“Let people go to service. Now it’s premature. If you have put pickle in it, and if you don’t wait for 4 months, and if you eat it like this, then you will say, it’s raw, it’s not tasty. But when it is time-ripened, let the fruit ripen, you will love it. So, give the scheme a chance,” he added.

Singh called it a “very good scheme” and said, “And like the Prime Minister said, it’s a decision by the armed forces. The politicians have endorsed it. The government of the day has endorsed it, and the country is accepting it. So, like I said, I don’t think there’s much for me to explain on that. It’s a very good scheme.”

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Ravi Kishan criticised the opposition parties on Friday for opposing the Agnipath scheme.

Ravi Kishan alleged that the opposition is “breaking the morale” of many children who want to serve the country.

“This is the thought of strengthening the country. For 5 years, their politics has been that whatever PM Modi and the government do, they (the opposition) only oppose it. How will these people take the country forward with a negative attitude towards everything?” Ravi Kishan said while speaking to ANI.

Congress MP Karti P. Chidambaram slammed the scheme and said that it in no way strengthens the capacity or capability of the armed forces. He further said that the Agnipath scheme is a short-term induction into the armed forces without the necessary training and benefits.

“A professional army going forward needs comprehensive training and a full commission, so the Agnipath scheme in no way strengthens the capacity and the capability of the armed forces,” the Congress MP said while responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech in Kargil, in which he vouched for the scheme, calling it a “necessary reform in the Army.”

Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad also dismissed the scheme and said that when the opposition alliance, INDIA bloc, comes to power, this scheme will be ended.

“I am proud to say that our army has a glorious history, but it is unfortunate that the BJP government has made arrangements for the Agnipath scheme. There cannot be a greater insult to the army than this. When the INDIA alliance government comes, we will end this scheme in 24 hours and do general recruitment,” Awadhesh Prasad said.

On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas, Prime Minister Modi paid respects to the military and placed a wreath at the Kargil War Memorial this morning.

Speaking on the occasion, PM Modi said that the goal of Agnipath was to make the Army young and keep the Army continuously fit for war. He said that major reforms in the army have been a long-standing demand.

“The country has felt the need for major reforms in the defence sector for decades. The army has been demanding this for years, but unfortunately, it was not given enough importance earlier. The Agnipath scheme is also an example of the necessary reforms done in the Army. For decades, discussions have been going on in Parliament and many committees on making the army young,” PM Modi said during his address on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.

PM Modi said that the average age of soldiers in India being higher than the global average was a concern raised over the years, and Agnipath resolved the matter. The Prime Minister also criticised the opposition parties opposing the scheme for “politicising sensitive issues related to national security.”

Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed annually on July 26, commemorates the success of Operation Vijay in 1999. During this operation, Indian forces successfully reclaimed strategic positions in the Kargil sector of Jammu and Kashmir that had been infiltrated by Pakistani soldiers and terrorists.