New Delhi, June 24 (Representative) Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday quoted a tweet by war hero Captain Bana Singh against the Agnipath scheme and questioned if only ‘friends’ be heard in ‘new india’, not the heros. Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “On one side there is a Paramvir of the country and on the other the arrogance and dictatorship of the Prime Minister. Will only ‘friends’ be heard in ‘New India’ and not the heroes of the country?” Param Vir Chakra winner Captain Bana Singh (retd), in a now-deleted tweet, had said: “Save the country, Agnipath scheme will badly damage us, India is going through a crucial stage. Youngsters are the future of our motherland.”
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also slammed the scheme, and said, “Decrees are given without thinking by the throne of Delhi, and the youth of the country have to bear the consequences”. The Congress will hold a nationwide protest against the new recruitment scheme on June 27. The Union government had last week unveiled the Agnipath scheme under which the youth aged between 17 and a half and 21 will be recruited in the Army, Navy and Air Force on contractual basis for four years.