Agnipath stir: Adroit handling needed

With the Narendra Modi government ruling out the rollback of the Agnipath scheme and the stir against it continuing, the country may be staring at widespread upheavals for a while - something that everyone would like to avoid in the wake of the Covid pandemic and at a time when signs of economic recovery are becoming visible.

The only thing that seems wrong with the scheme is the government's inability to have adequate dialogue and discussion over the subject before introducing it. Just as in the case of the three farm laws, which had the potential to rejuvenate agriculture but became unpopular because they seemed like being thrust on everyone, the Agnipath scheme attempts to address the issue of soaring revenue expenditure in the defence sector.

Numbers speak. In 2022-23, Rs119,696 crore will be spent on the pensions alone of the three services. While Rs152,369 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure, Rs233,000 crore will be revenue expenditure. With the nation facing threats from China as well as Pakistan, this is not a very situation, for the role of arms and armaments like state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, warships, and missiles is paramount in modern warfare.

So, one of the major objectives of Agnipath was bringing down revenue expenditure. This would release funds for the purchase of arms. However, as mentioned above, the government failed to carry out adequate dialogue with the stakeholders like retired defence personnel. There are reports that even the former Army chief, Gen VK Singh (Retd), now a Union Minister, was not taken into confidence.

The youngsters aspiring to join the armed forces, who have been waiting for years because of the Covid-induced freeze, were shocked by the news that the job they had been preparing for would be just a four-year 'tour of duty.' It needs to be noted here that it was later that the government came up with sweeteners like a quota for the Agniveers in the Central police forces.

While announcing the scheme, the government termed it as 'transformative.' The youngsters wanting to join the military, however, saw it as a betrayal. They started a movement, which has turned violent in several states in north India.

It has also been politicized. The Congress has called the scheme the ultimate 'anti-national act.' Party MPs and leaders took to the streets on Monday in Delhi. Prominent among them were Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Harish Rawat, Jairam Ramesh, Salman Khurshid, Sachin Pilot, Deepender Hooda, and Ajay Maken.

At the same time, the government also seems to be hardening its stance on the subject, especially on the agitation. "There is no space for indiscipline in the armed forces. No space for arson and vandalism. Every individual who aspires to join Agnipath has to give an undertaking and pledge that they have not taken part in any protest or arson… There will be police verification after that. No one can come into the armed forces without police verification," Lieutenant-General Anil Puri, Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs, said on Sunday.

It needs to be mentioned here that the high unemployment rate has made the stir against the Agnipath scheme more intense. Had there been jobs all around, the scramble for the handful of government jobs would not have been so tough. In a nutshell, the government has to adroitly handle not just the agitation but also the long-term and long-standing problem of unemployment.