Agnipath aspirants will be rejected if they have been accused of arson or vandalism, a senior military official said on Sunday, signalling a hardening of stance on the violent protests against the recruitment programme that have disrupted train services across the country and led to the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and coaches.
The official also ruled out a rollback of recruitment scheme despite widespread protests.
The comments came a day ahead of a planned protest over the scheme in Delhi, and close on the heels of a spree of assurances by various ministries that those who are not absorbed in the military after their four-year Agnipath stint will have ample job opportunities elsewhere.
“Every individual who wants to join the armed forces through the Agnipath scheme will have to submit a pledge that they were neither part of any protest nor were involved in any violence. Nobody can join the forces without police verification… We have made the provisions,” said Lt General Anil Puri, the additional secretary of the department of military affairs.
The official, alleging the protests were instigated by “inimical forces” as well as some coaching institutes, said discipline was paramount for the armed forces.
“The foundation of the Indian armed forces is discipline. There is no space for arson. There is no problem if you show your anger and engage in talks. But there is no space for arson and vandalism.”
The official defended the scheme and said the announcements in recent days of reserving jobs for those who leave the military at the end of the four-year Agnipath scheme was planned for long.
“The announcements regarding the reservations were pre-planned and not in reaction to the arson that happened after Agnipath scheme announcement,” Lt Gen Puri added, speaking a briefing with officials from all three services.
To a question on whether the government was reviewing or rolling back the scheme because of the protests, Lt Gen Puri said: “No, why should there be a rollback?”
The three services of the military came out with a broad schedule of enrolment under the new policy and asserted that it was aimed at bringing down the age profile of the armed forces.
“By December first week, we will get the first batch of 25,000 Agniveers and the second batch would be inducted around February 2023, taking the number to 40,000,” said Lt Gen Bansi Ponappa.
Air Marshal SK Jha, the officer-in-charge of personnel at the Indian Air Force, said registrations for the first batch will start from June 24 and from July 24, the first phase of the online examination process will begin. “The first batch would be enrolled by December and training would commence by December 30,” he said.
Lt Gen Puri defended the scheme, calling it a “long-pending reform”. “We want to bring youthfulness and experience with this reform. Today, a large number of jawans are in their thirties and officers are getting command much later than they did in the past,” he added.
The military affairs officer also exhorted aspirants to start preparing for the recruitment, saying it is not easy to clear physical fitness tests. “The Army, Navy and Air Force are giving time of 45 to 60 days to the youth to prepare for the physical fitness tests and understand the terms and conditions so that you are ready to join us,” he said.
“Our intake of Agniveers will go up to 1.25 lakh (125,000) in the near future and will not remain at 46,000, which is the present figure,” added Lt General Puri.
The tri-services media briefing at the headquarters of the defence ministry took place hours after defence minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force for the second straight day.
Unveiling the scheme on June 14, the government said youth between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure under the scheme.
From the following day, angry protests broke out amid criticism about the length of service and the lack of pension provisions for those released early. Protesters also opposed the age limit of 21, which was eased by the government on Thursday to allow, as a one-time exception, those up till the age of 23 to apply for the scheme.
On Saturday, mobs set ablaze Taregana railway station in Bihar during a bandh and vandalised Ludhiana railway station in Punjab. Rail tracks and roads were blockaded in parts of West Bengal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. The Railways halted services crossing Bihar during the day for June 19 and 20. A protester was killed in police firing during violent protests in Secunderabad.
On Saturday, the Union home and the defence ministries announced they will set aside at least 10% of the jobs in central paramilitary forces, civilian defence posts and a host of defence sector public companies for those exiting the Agnipath programme early.
The announcement of the new scheme came in the backdrop of recruitments into the military remaining stalled over the Covid-19 pandemic for two years.
The Army annually recruits 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers.
