The
Agnipath recruitment scheme, Indian government’s new hiring mechanism for
soldiers, has triggered a wave of protests across the country. The scheme,
which essentially makes entry-level soldier posts contractual, has many aspirants
nervous about the prospect of joining the Armed Forces. Amid these protests,
Rakesh Tikait, a farmer leader from Uttar Pradesh who became the face of the
agitation against the three agriculture laws (later repealed by the Centre) has
spoken out in favour of protestors.

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Tikait, who is the
national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), wrote on Twitter in
Hindi that the farmers of the country “have suffered for 13 months due to the
government’s wrong policies and today, the youngsters of the country are facing
the consequences of a wrong decision.”

“The government
should know that getting into the armed forces are also sons of farmers. We
will fight till our last breath for the youngsters of the country and our
children.”

He further said: “Till
now, the youth were getting at least 15 years’ in service in the armed forces
and a pension post-retirement but after the implementation of this scheme, when
they retire from the services of the armed forces, they will return home
without pension.”

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The Agnipath
scheme, which overhauls the Indian government’s recruitment process, provisions
that youngsters between 17.5 to 21 years of age will be hired into the armed
forces for a period of four years. The age-cap has been increased to 23 years
for 2023 considering recruitments remained closed for two consecutive years. After
the four years, 25% recruits will sign on for permanent posts for 15 years. The
remaining 75% will be released with a lumpsum payment.

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The new scheme
hasn’t found many takers among aspirants. Protestors say the scheme won’t be
enough to train young soldiers for them to effectively render their duties.

Tikait, who has
come out very strongly in favour of protestors, spoke out about the stringent
age criteria that is part of the policy. “Going by this logic, there should be
a similar law for MLAs and MPs contesting the elections,” he said.

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“MLAs and MPs can
contest elections up to the age of 90 years and can also avail pension. But
imposing retirement on the youth just after four years of service is unfair. We
won’t let this happen,” the farmers’ leader said.

Tikait has been
one of the foremost farm leaders from Uttar Pradesh. When the farmers’ protests
were at their peak, it was his call to agriculturists from his state that
widened the scope of the protests. Many soldiers in India come from families
with farm backgrounds. Therefore, just as the agriculture laws has caused a
ripple among some units of soldiers, the farmers’ community will be interested
in the fate of the Agnipath scheme. Tikait has said that the BKU will agitate
against the scheme.