Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) MP Tejasvi Surya accused the Congress party on Friday of politicising the Agniveer Scheme and spreading misleading statements. He said the Congress Party is politicising issues related to the Indian Army and national security, adding that this is not the first time the Congress Party has done so. He urged Congress leadership to refrain from involving the army in politics, especially on a day when India is celebrating the valour of soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Kargil War.He said, "Previously, the Congress party has demanded a census based on caste and religion in the Army. This demand is akin to treason." He further stated, "The Congress party has always tried to weaken the country. The condition of the border infrastructure during the Congress government was deplorable."
Highlighting the achievements of his government, he said, "In the last ten years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our government has strengthened India's border infrastructure and modernised the Indian Army.In this year's budget, we have allocated almost 13% of the budget for defence expenditure," he added. He continued his attack on the Congress Party, saying that leaders like Narendra Modi have introduced the Agniveer scheme to rejuvenate India's defence forces, while the Congress Party is trying to weaken the Indian Army morally and economically.
Earlier, speaking during the Kargil Vijay Diwas Shradhanjali Samaroh in Drass, Ladakh, Prime Minister Modi said that the opposition was misleading the youth on the Agnipath issue. "Unfortunately, sensitive issues like national security have been made a subject of politics by some people. They are playing politics with lies about this army reform for their personal interests. These are the same people who weakened our armed forces by committing scams worth thousands of crores of rupees. These are the same people who wanted the Air Force to never get modern fighter jets. These are the same people who prepared to scrap the Tejas fighter plane. They intended to lock the Tejas fighter plane in a box."
In response to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said it is very unfortunate and deplorable that the Prime Minister is engaging in petty politics even while paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas, adding that no Prime Minister has ever done this before. Taking to the social media platform X, he said, "Modi ji is saying that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army. This is a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult to our valiant Armed Forces."
He further added, "Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has stated on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the 'Agnipath Scheme,' and 25% were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi government did the opposite and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces. The Congress party's demand is consistent--the Agnipath Scheme should be scrapped," he said