Congress MP Rahul Gandhi shared a video on X, where he was seen sitting in front of Lord Shiva poster that he used amid his speech in Lok Sabha on July 1. In the video Rahul Gandhi has asked Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to apologise from the parents of Agniveer.
Taking to the social media platform X, he said, “Protection of truth is the basis of every religion! But Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lied in Parliament about the assistance given to the family of martyred Agniveer. Martyr Agniveer Ajay Singh’s father himself has told the truth about their lies. The Defence Minister should apologise to the Parliament, the country, the Army and the family of martyr Agniveer Ajay Singh ji.”
सत्य की रक्षा हर धर्म का आधार है!
लेकिन रक्षा मंत्री राजनाथ सिंह ने शहीद अग्निवीर के परिवार को सहायता मिलने के बारे में संसद में झूठ बोला।
उनके झूठ पर शहीद अग्निवीर अजय सिंह के पिता जी ने खुद सच्चाई बताई है।
रक्षा मंत्री को संसद, देश, सेना और शहीद अग्निवीर अजय सिंह जी के… pic.twitter.com/H2odxpfyOO
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 3, 2024
He also posted a video in which the father of Shaheed Ajay Singh made the brief accusation that the family of the fallen soldier had not gotten any payment from the federal government.
A teenage soldier in the Indian army named Ajay Singh was killed earlier this year in a landmine explosion along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera sector of the Rajouri district in Jammu & Kashmir.
Gandhi, who has long opposed the Agnipath Scheme, expressed his continued opposition to it in his first address as the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. Agniveer is a use-and-throw labor, he had claimed, accusing the government of dividing soldiers by giving pensions to some and not to others. While one jawan receives a pension, the other does not. You are causing a rift amongst Jawans.”
Gandhi’s claims have been denied by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who also charged Gandhi with disseminating false information. Singh had stressed that the government pays Rs 1 crore to the families of the martyrs from Agniveer.
Gandhi also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the Prime Minister’s Office ordered the Agnipath Scheme to be executed without the required consultation.
Gandhi addressed a number of topics in his speech, which created a lot of agitation in Parliament, including the Agniveer Scheme, farmer concerns, demonetization, and the Manipur conflict.
The Agnipath Scheme
Selected applicants can enlist in the Indian Armed Forces for a four-year term under the Agnipath Scheme, which was implemented in 2022. Candidates may submit applications for permanent posts after this time, contingent on the requirements of the organization and Armed Forces regulations. These applicants may join as regular cadres up to a maximum of 25%.
Agniveers are those chosen via the Agnipath Scheme. The government claims that this program gives determined and patriotic young people between the ages of 17.5 and 21 the chance to enlist in the military for a four-year term.
