Agnipath protest spreads: Train coach torched, Buses vandalized

316 trains affected, 200 cancelled across country; 7 trains affected by arson

Large number of youth to benefit from increase in Agnipath age limit: HM/Army Chief

Recruitment process for ‘Agnipath’ scheme to start in ‘few days’: Rajnath

 Ballia/Aligarh/Varanasi:  Raising slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Agnipath Vapas Lo’, youths vandalised trains and torched a railway coach in Ballia and damaged buses at other places as protests erupted again in Uttar Pradesh on Friday over the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.Police wielded lathis, lobbed teargas shells and took 100 people in custody in Ballia.Officials said protests over the recently announced scheme took place at 17 places across the state, including Firozabad, Amethi, Varanasi, Unnao and Deoria.A bus was set afire on the Yamuna Expressway near Tappal in Aligarh and at least two others damaged. Four buses were damaged in stone pelting on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Firozabad. Protesters also targeted buses in Varanasi and Ballia.Several trains were cancelled or held back by the Railways to prevent damage.

Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said arson was reported from Ballia and Aligarh.”In Ballia, youths set a bogie of a spare coach train on fire. Minor incidents were reported from other places.”Police officials have explained them the scheme. Through the public representatives, the youths are being taken into confidence,” the ADGP told reporters.A video showed the youths raising slogans and vandalising the Ballia-Varanasi Memu and Ballia-Shahganj trains.They also pelted stones near the railway godown and targeted private shops at the railway station platform.

Ballia Superintendent of Police Raj Karan Nayyar said, “Some students, while returning from the railway station, tried to break the window pane of an empty train at the washing pit and also set on fire a bogey. RPF and police reached the spot as soon as they got the news, and brought the fire under control,” he said.District Magistrate of Ballia Saumya Agarwal told, “Around 100 persons have been taken into custody. They have been identified using CCTV footage and strict action will be initiated against the accused. The situation is under control, and there is peace. Adequate force is deployed.”Dharmendra Singh, younger brother of Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister and Ballia MLA Daya Shankar Singh, said, “Unruly elements pelted stones at the camp office of Daya Shankar Singh and also damaged the hoarding put up at the office gate.”

District inspector of schools Rakesh Kumar has ordered that the re-opening of schools after the summer vacation should be done only after further orders.Road traffic was badly affected in Aligarh and Noida since morning.In Unnao, youths staged a demonstration in Safipur area near Mahatma Gandhi Inter College. Later, they handed over a memorandum to sub-divisional magistrate addressed to the defence minister.They also took out a bike rally and shouted slogans against Agnipath.Unnao Senior Superintendent of Police Shashi Shekhar said, “There is peace.” He said the protesters were sent back after explaining them the new recruitment scheme.In Deoria, too, youths staged a demonstration.

Firozabad Superintendent of Police (rural) Akhilesh Narayan said that the protesters in Matsena police station area setup barriers around 7 am and stopped buses on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Around four buses were vandalised.”The passengers were provided with alternative buses,” he said.The unruly elements are from nearby villages and they are being identified, the SP added.Scores of youngsters also descended on the Yamuna Expressway and blocked traffic briefly near Jewar, officials said.The movement through Jewar toll plaza between Greater Noida and Mathura-Agra was blocked for around an hour from 12 pm, they said.In Varanasi, youths raised anti-government slogans at the Cantonment Railway Station and damaged buses and carts outside.

As the police force chased them, they ran towards the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth and pelted stones, officials said. The youths also damaged buses outside the DRM office in the Lahartara area of the city.Varanasi Police Commissioner A Satish Ganesh said an appeal has been made to those trying to take law into their own hands to maintain peace and warned action will be taken against them as per law if they don’t abide by it.In Amethi, too, youths staged a protest against the Agnipath scheme and blocked the Amethi-Durgapur and Amethi-Pratapgarh road.As protests snowballed, the North-Eastern Railways, North-Central Railways and Northern Railways cancelled some trains while they stopped few others.

North-Eastern Railways spokesperson Pankaj Singh told that 12 trains have been cancelled. These are Varanasi-Chhapra, Chhapra-Aurihar, Ballia-Varanasi, Azamgarh-Varanasi, Prayagraj Rambagh-Mau, Mau-Prayagraj Rambagh, Thave-Chhapra Kacheri, Chhapra-Varanasi, Thave-Masrakh, Masrakh-Thave, Varanasi-Ballia and Banaras-Patna Express.Another 15 trains have been stopped at various railway stations and services will resume once the situation improves, he added.Spokespersons of North-Central Railways and Northern Railways said there was no damage to trains, but several of them had been stopped as a precautionary measure.Protests have erupted in several states since Wednesday against the Agnipath scheme to recruit jawans into the army, the navy and the air force for a four-year-period followed by compulsory retirement for most without gratuity and pension benefits.

The Centre’s decision to increase the upper age limit for joining the Agnipath scheme for recruitment in defence services will benefit a large number of youth, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.He said the recruitment process in the Army had been affected for the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a sensitive decision by showing concern for the youth of the country.

“The recruitment process in the Army was affected due to the corona pandemic for the last two years, so Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji has taken a sensitive decision, showing concern for the youth, to give them two years concession in the age limit from 21 years to 23 years in the first year of Agnipath scheme,” Shah said in a tweet in Hindi.A large number of youth will benefit by this decision. Through the Agnipath scheme, they will move forward in the service to the country and their bright future, he said. “I thank @narendramodi ji,” he added.The government on Thursday increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years from 21 years for 2022 for the enrolment of soldiers into the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The process of recruitment under the ‘Agnipath’ military recruitment scheme will start in a “few days”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday and appealed to the youth looking at joining the military to start preparing for it.Singh also tried to assuage the concerns of young people agitating against the 4-year contractual recruitment plan, saying the new model is a “golden opportunity” for those wanting to join the country’s armed forces.He said the government’s decision to increase the upper age limit from 21 years to 23 years for recruitment under the scheme in 2022 will allow a significant number of youths to join the armed forces.

Singh took to Twitter to reach out to the demonstrators in the backdrop of continued violent protests in several states. One person was killed in police firing in Secunderabad during the protests that raged through several states for the third day on Friday with trains torched, public property vandalised and many thousands blocking tracks and highways.The ‘Agnipath’ scheme announced by the Central government is a “golden opportunity” for the youth of India to join the defence system of the country and serve it, he said.”Due to the lack of recruitment process in the army for the last two years, many youths could not get the opportunity to join the army. Therefore, keeping in mind the future of the youths, on the instructions of Prime Minister @narendramodi, the government has increased the age limit for recruitment of Agniveers from 21 years to 23 years,” Singh said.

He said this one-time relaxation will allow a lot of youth to become ‘Agniveers’.The youths to be recruited under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’.”I heartily thank Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for his concern and sensitivity towards the future of the youths. I appeal to the youth that the process of recruitment in the army is going to start in a few days. They start their preparation for it,” Singh tweeted.The government on Thursday night increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022 amid widespread protest against the new model for enrolment of soldiers into the three services.

Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the government said youths between the ages of 17 and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.After the scheme was rolled out, the Army said it would ensure an enhanced youthful profile of the force and result in a “reduction in the average age from 32 to 26 years over a period of time”.The three service chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations.

Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Friday said the government’s decision to raise the upper age limit to 23 years from 21 under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme for 2022 will provide an opportunity to the youths who were preparing to join the force but couldn’t be recruited due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years.Gen Pande said the decision of the government has been received by the Army to grant the one-time waiver and that the recruitment process will be announced shortly. The Chief of Army Staff also called upon the youth to avail the opportunity to join the Army as ‘Agniveers’.”The decision of the government has been received to grant a one-time waiver, increasing the entry age of recruitment to 23 years, for the recruitment cycle of 2022,” the Army Chief said in a statement.

“This decision will provide an opportunity for many of our young, energetic and patriotic youth who, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, were preparing to join the recruitment rallies, which couldn’t be completed in the last two years due to COVID restrictions,” he said.”The schedule of recruitment process will be announced shortly. We call upon our youth to avail this opportunity for joining the Indian Army as Agniveers,” Gen Pande said.The government on Thursday night raised the upper age limit for recruitment under the ‘Agnipath’ scheme to 23 years from 21 for 2022 amid widespread protest against the new model for enrolment of soldiers into the three services.

Unveiling the scheme on Tuesday, the government said youths between the age of 17 and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure while 25 per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service.”Cognisant of the fact that it has not been possible to undertake the recruitment during the last two years, the government has decided that a one-time waiver shall be granted for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022,” a statement by the defence ministry said.

“Accordingly, the upper age limit for the recruitment process for Agnipath scheme for 2022 is increased to 23 years,” it said.Several states including Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand have witnessed protests against the new scheme.A number of opposition political parties and a significant number of military experts have also slammed the scheme saying it will adversely impact the functioning of the armed forces.The new scheme for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force was projected by the government as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the three services.

After the scheme was rolled out, the Army said it would ensure an enhanced youthful profile of the force and result in a “reduction in the average age from 32 to 26 years over a period of time.The three service chiefs have also strongly backed the scheme and said it was unveiled after over two years of deliberations.Military officials said with the infusion of technology and revamping of the training programme, the armed forces would ensure that the personnel inducted under the scheme have the same skill sets which are required to meet the operational challenges.

The monthly salary of an ‘Agniveer’ in the first year of employment would be Rs 30,000 and the in-hand amount would be Rs 21,000 as Rs 9,000 would go to a corpus with an equal contribution from the government.Subsequently, the monthly salary in the second, third and fourth year will be Rs 33,000, Rs 36,500 and Rs 40,000.Each ‘Agniveer’ will get an amount of Rs 11.71 lakh as ‘Seva Nidhi Package’ and it will be exempted from income tax.The four-year tenure under the new scheme will include around two-and-half months to six months of training periods.