Over 350 trains were cancelled today across India as deadly violence by armed forces aspirants upset with the new programme continued in several states despite new assurances and concessions by the government.
In Uttar Pradesh, the police arrested 250 people over the violence that erupted after the scheme was announced on Tuesday and registered cases against 400 unknown people. 150 others were charged by the railways police in the state.
In Kerala, hundreds of young men took out huge protest rallies in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, demanding immediate exams for army recruitment. In Karnataka, the police used sticks to disperse protesters as they attempted to take out a march in Dharwad.
In Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed shock and grief over the death of a 24-year-old man, who died after security personnel opened fire at agitators at the Secunderabad railway station on Friday. Mr Rao announced ₹ 25 lakh compensation to his family and also a government job for an eligible relative.
In Bengal, train services in the North 24 Parganas district were disrupted for around one hour as a group of agitators blocked railway tracks and did push-ups as a mark of protest.
In Haryana, protesters set a vehicle on fire outside the Mahendergarh railway station while a group of over 50 agitators raided the Ludhiana railway station in Punjab, damaging property.
In Rajasthan, hundreds of young men held demonstrations at various places including Jaipur, Jodhpur and Jhunjhunu, and blocked the Jaipur-Delhi Highway in Alwar briefly.
Agnipath Scheme (Agnīpath Yojanā) is a new scheme introduced by the Government of India on 14 June 2022, for recruitment of soldiers below the rank of commissioned officers into the three services of the armed forces.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who held a meeting with top military officers, strongly defended the programme, saying it was announced after wide-ranging consultations including with the ex-servicemen and blamed the protests on a misunderstanding spread for political reasons. The Home and Defence ministries promised new 10 per cent quotas each in jobs for 'Agnipath' recruits after their four-year tenure. The Ministry of Shipping also announced plans to induct Agniveers.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is in hospital with Covid issues, calling the Agnipath scheme "directionless" and saying that her party will work for its withdrawal.
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