Indore: Hundreds of youths on Friday demonstrated against the Centre’s new military recruitment policy, ‘Agnipath’ at the Indore railway station forcing cancellation of several trains. Agitators barged into the Laxmi Bai railway station, raised slogans opposing the new policy and indulged in stone pelting. Heavy police force have been deployed to disperse the protesters and to control the situation.
As reported by IANS, services of at least five to six trains were disrupted for over three hours. Several protesters were detained and security forces were deployed in nearby railway stations, including Ratlam, Shajapur, Ujjain.
The agitation here started a day after it rocked Gwalior on Thursday. Panic gripped the city for almost three-four hours. Private and public properties were damaged and tyres burnt on the railway track. Two FIRs – one in Railway police and another at local police station have been registered and identification of youth that damaged properties during the protest in Gwalior is underway.
Earlier on Thursday, the Union Cabinet had approved the ‘Agnipath’ recruitment scheme for Indian youth to serve in the Armed Forces. The youth selected under this scheme will be known as ‘Agniveers’. Under the Agnipath recruitment scheme, Agniveers would be recruited only for four-year tenures in all the cadre – Army, Air force, Navy without pension benefits. 25 per cent of the recruits every year will be retained in the forces while the rest 75 per cent will be sent back to civilian life after completion of the four-year contract term.
As the protest spread in Bengal, leaders of the ruling BJP accused the opposition of “misleading” people which resulted in a stir. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra blamed MP Congress Kamal Nath for misleading the youth in the state. “Agnipath is a revolutionary step by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the armed forces. Kamal Nath’s message on social media (twitter) seems to have misled youth and they are protesting,” Mishra has said on Thursday’s protest in Gwalior.
Being labelled as historic, the scheme has seen country wide protests.
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