Ex-servicemen out on roads against Agnipath scheme

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 20

Members of the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Union participated in the nationwide protest call against the Agnipath scheme of the armed forces for the recruitment of jawans and staged a protest near Hall Gate on Monday.

What will they do after they are sent home after four years of service? With no pensions and employment, these highly trained youth might feel vulnerable and can even take up arms Gurdeep Singh, a veteran

The former members of the armed forces raised concern regarding the new recruitment scheme. They said denying pension to recruits after retirement was unjustified.

“What will they do after they are sent home after four years of service? With no pensions and employment, these highly trained youth might feel vulnerable and can even take up arms,” said Gurdeep Singh, a veteran. Singh said he belonged to a poor family. “I have served the country for 17 years. With my salary and pension, I have been able to provide an education to my children, which my parents or I could not even dream of,” he said.

Singh said poor and rural families would be most affected by the new recruitment policy as their wards would not be able to find a permanent job.

The members of the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Union said only wards of poor families join the armed forces and the move was aimed at taking away the only decent way of livelihood they have.

Union president Sukhdev Singh said: “For youngsters whose parents cannot afford costly higher education or study abroad, the entry into the armed forces ensures that they live a decent and respectable life.” He said with this temporary employment for four years, the dreams of a good life of these lakhs of youngsters have been shattered.

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