The Indian Panorama

Tag: Agnipath

  • LAC situation stable but unpredictable: Army Chief

    Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande on Thursday said the security situation along the northern borders (with China) was stable but remained unpredictable. Addressing a press conference ahead of Army Day (Jan 15), the Army Chief said: “We have resolved five of the seven friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.” The pending friction points are at Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh, sources said. General Pande praised the troops on the ground for being able to maintain a “robust defensive posture” to prevent the adversary from changing the status quo along the LAC, the de facto boundary with China.

    On China’s aggression, the Army Chief said there was a slight increase in the number of troops of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) facing the Eastern Command. “Their (Chinese) troops which came for training have remained,” the General said, adding that “we have adequate deployment and we have the reserves to meet any challenge.” The Army has decided to go in for transformation in five key domains. These include force re-structuring and optimisation; modernisation and technology infusion; manpower management like Agnipath; jointness with other forces; and refining own systems and processes.

    General Pande said 2023 would be the year of transformation and the force had laid out a specific roadmap aiming for certain outcomes that could be achieved. “This process will continue beyond the current year.”

    On modernisation, General Pande said: “As of now, 45 per cent of our equipment is vintage, 41 per cent is of current technology and some 12 to 15 per cent is state-of-the-art. “By 2030, we aim to have 45 per cent equipment in the state-of-the-art category and 35 per cent of current technology.”

  • Anti-Agnipath agitation spreads; Railways face the brunt of the protests

    Anti-Agnipath agitation spreads; Railways face the brunt of the protests

    Centre announces 10 pc reservation for ‘Agniveers’ in paramilitary, PSUs besides other incentives

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The protests against the Agnipath recruitment scheme to the armed forces continued for the fourth consecutive day in many parts of the country despite announcements of reservations for Agniveers in various government jobs. The Opposition parties have also started parallel agitations against the scheme, though they distanced themselves from the violence witnessed during the protests. Tension mounted in Warangal town in Telangana during the funeral procession of Rakesh who was killed in Friday’s police firing on a rampaging mob at Secunderabad railway station. The crowd in the procession barged into a BSNL office on the way and burnt a board. The crowd also tried to take the body towards Warangal railway station but police resorted to a baton charge to prevent the same. In Bihar, things remained out of control as aspirants set a railway station and ambulances on fire and clashed with police personnel at several places. The Railways suspended movement of many trains till 8 p.m. on Saturday and said property worth ₹200 crore were damaged by protesting aspirants. In Patna, detained students leaders to disperse the protesters. When asked by media persons why the State police couldn’t tackle the protest on time, Bihar Director General of Police S.K. Singhal replied, “that is your perception” and moved ahead in his official car. Meanwhile, a Railway official Prabhat Kumar said, “Incidents of vandalism at railway premises have led to loss of over ₹200 crore in the State. As many as 50 coaches and five engines of trains have been burnt and are out of service. Platforms, computers and various technical parts too were damaged.” The Railways on Saturday suspended movement of trains in the State till 8 p.m. to avoid any further damage. “Over 325 persons have been arrested and about 60 FIRs have been lodged for indulging in violent incidents at different places,” said a senior police official of Bihar. The protesting aspirants set Taregna railway station, about 30 kms away from Patna, on fire and vandalized police posts and some vehicles parked there. Some ambulances too were damaged at Arwal in Patna district. The protesters continued vandalism in Masaurhi, Jehanabad, Fatuha, Munger and other places.

    Some students organizations like the All India Students Association (AISA), Rojgar Sangharsh Sanyukt Morcha, Sena Bharti Jawan Morcha and others supported by Left parties had called for Bihar bandh on Saturday against the Central government’s short-term contractual services in the defense forces. “We got wide support from people for our bandh call. A large number of people had come out to the street despite Internet suspension, Section 144 of Cr PC imposition and heavy deployment of security forces. It was a successful shutdown,” said Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) State secretary Kumar.

    Seventeen trains originating from different stations of Eastern Railways were cancelled. While 15 trains that were scheduled on Saturday were cancelled, two Raxaul summer specials and the Kolkata-Jhansi Pratham Swatantrata Sangram Express scheduled on Sunday were cancelled.

    Among the trains cancelled on Saturday were the Raxaul Mithila Express, the Gaya Express Kathgodam Bagh Express starting from Howrah Station, the Malda Town – Delhi Farakka Express starting from Malda and the Sealdah Ballia Express starting from Sealdah station. The route of some trains was also changed. Sealdah – Saharsa Hatebazare Express will be short-terminated at Malda Town and Saharsa Sealdah Hatebazare Express will be short-originated from Malda Town station, a press statement by Eastern Railway said. This was the second consecutive day that the train services were severely disrupted. Hundreds of passengers who had arrived at different stations including at Howrah were seen waiting at the platforms. Some passengers also tried to take buses to reach their destination.

    While there was no violence in Kolkata on Saturday, there were protests in the city and its suburbs. Supporters of the All India Democratic Students Organization, the student wing of SUCI (Communist), held protests at Hazra crossing in the city, only 100m from the residence of the Chief Minister. The protesters were picked up by the police. A group also tried to block Railway services by protesting on the tracks near Barrackpore Railway station.

    Railway services along the Sealdah-Barrackpore route in North 24 Parganas district was disrupted for around an hour because of the protests. The protests were stopped at the intervention of the police. A large police contingent was deployed in front of the state headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

    The Congress party in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday stepped up protests and the Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa, asked the Punjab government to bring forth a resolution against the Agnipath scheme, during the upcoming session of the Punjab State Assembly. He also demanded the Punjab government take an all-party delegation to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

    Mr. Bajwa said the Punjab government must take these steps immediately, if Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is indeed interested in protecting the interests of the youth of Punjab. “We must stand united behind the future generations of Punjabis and protect their interests immediately,” he said.

    In Punjab, a group of protesters damaged windowpanes at the Ludhiana railway station, while in Jalandhar, protesters staged a march. In Haryana, some protesters set a vehicle on fire outside Mahendragarh railway station. Demonstrations were also held in Sonipat and protesters blocked the Rohtak-Panipat highway. In Kaithal, Fatehabad and Jind, protest marches were held.

    Meanwhile, a delegation of Congress leaders submitted a memorandum to the representative of the Haryana Governor against the Agnipath scheme. A meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), chaired by former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was held.

    Mr. Hooda said the Agnipath scheme is neither in the interest of the country nor in the interest of the youth. “Contract recruitment is playing with the future of the youth and the security of the country. Before doing military reform, it is very important to consult with all the sections affected by it,” he said. He said that the memorandum also maintained that the Enforcement Directorate is acting against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the behest of the government due to political vendetta and the Congress party stands strongly against such vendetta.

    Protests were held in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode too against the scheme under the banner of various students and youth organizations.

    (With inputs from The Hindu and agencies)

  • Agnipath protests refuse to die down across India

    Agnipath protests refuse to die down across India

    New Delhi/Patna/Hyderabad/Bhopal (TIP)- The protests against the military’s new “Agnipath” recruitment scheme, which started from the East and North and spread to several other areas, on Friday, June 17,  engulfed cities in South India too. In Secunderabad, one person died during firing by the police, which was forced to open fire at hundreds of protesters as the situation escalated into large-scale violence and arson. The mob, with their faces covered with handkerchiefs, barged into the railway tracks and torched everything in sight, besides looting the parcel office. In Bihar, the protesters targeted the homes of several BJP leaders, including its state chief Sanjay Jaiswal and deputy chief minister Renu Devi. The main target for expressing anguish against the new recruitment policy remained the Railways as over 200 trains were affected due to the protests. Around 35 trains were cancelled and 13 short-terminated since the protests erupted on Wednesday. Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urged the youths not to destroy railway property to vent their anger.

    The worst-hit East Central Railways — which covers Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of Uttar Pradesh, the states which have seen wide protests — also decided to “monitor” the operations of eight trains due to the stir. In Secunderabad, the Telangana police fired at least 10 rounds to disperse crowds, which left one person dead and 12 others injured. Three trains and several stalls were set on fire by the rampaging mobs. Besides, they vandalised trains, blocked railway tracks with two-wheelers, wooden boxes, garbage cans, gunny bags and wheelbarrows of railway porters, and stole goods kept in the parcel office. Around Rs 20 crores in property loss was expected, Railways DGP Sandeep Shandiliya said. Angry mobs targeted trains and railway property in their protests against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment in the armed forces. The coaches of three running trains in ECR and one empty rake in Kulharia, Bihar (also in ECR) were damaged by violent protesters. One coach of a stationary train was also damaged in the washing line at UP’s Ballia.

    Officials said the protesters also erected barriers on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway to stop buses and pelted stones at them while the traffic also briefly came to a standstill on the Yamuna Expressway near Noida. The protests also erupted in Varanasi, Firozabad and Amethi, which caused damage to government and private buses, among others. Ballia SP Raj Karan Nayyar said the youths were being persuaded to call off their stir and sent back. “The incident has been videographed. So far, no arrests have been made,” he said. In Bihar, the protests grew more aggressive and violent on the third day running, with the agitators damaging railway property and targeting the houses of senior BJP leaders. Deputy CM Renu Devi, whose house was among those targeted, called the agitators “goons instigated by the Opposition”. She said: “What else could be the reason behind this attack on BJP leaders? It’s the Opposition which is behind those who have been targeting the houses of leaders of our party. My house in Bettiah town was attacked but thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.” Reports from various districts of the state also suggest that uncontrolled protesters on Friday ransacked and damaged rail property. Many bogies of express and passenger trains were torched by the protesting youths at various railway stations in the state.

    Bihar has seen a violent agitation against the Agnipath scheme since the day it was announced. “What will happen after the completion of four years in the armed forces? We want the Central government to reinstate the previous recruitment system”, the protesters said.

    Meanwhile, the Opposition RJD has announced its “complete support” to the youths agitating against the “Agnipath” scheme. RJD state chief Jagdanand Singh said the party will also support the state-wide bandh called by youths on Saturday. In Madhya Pradesh, the stir spread to new areas as protests were staged in Indore, Morena and Guna. However, no major incidents of violence were reported from anywhere on Friday, though in Indore some youths staged a protest at the railway station and pelted stones at the police. They tried to set fire to a train but were chased away by the police.

    The demonstrators also staged a blockade on the Mumbai-Agra highway for some time. The police resorted to a mild lathi-charge to disperse them. A youth, identified as Yogendra Singh, in Morena was arrested for circulating messages on the social media to instigate youths to indulge in violence, the police said.

    Some physical training clubs in Gwalior have come under the scanner in the wake of the vandalism. Gwalior collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh directed the police to seek details on these clubs, saying that information was received on the involvement of some students of physical training clubs in some unwanted and unruly activities. Sources said 10 managers of these clubs in Gwalior were under the local administration’s radar for Thursday’s violence in the city and eight of them were questioned. As many as 37 people were arrested for the violence Gwalior so far.

    In Gurgaon, Haryana, prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC have been imposed as a precautionary measure even though no fresh protest was reported from the city. In New Delhi, some Metro stations were shut due to the students’ protests.    Source: DECCAN CHRONICLE

    ‘Mafiveer PM will have to take back Agnipath’, warns Rahul Gandhi

    Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday, June 18,  continued his attack on the government over the controversial ‘Agnipath’ armed forces recruitment scheme, this time taking a swipe at ‘Mafiveer’ prime minister Narendra Modi and warning the government it will be forced to scrap the new military policy in the same way it was forced to withdraw the three farm laws.

    “For 8 consecutive years, the BJP government has insulted the values of ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan’. I had said earlier also that the prime minister will have to withdraw the Black Agriculture Act. In the same way, he will have to obey the youth of the country by becoming ‘Mafiveer’ and ‘Agnipath’ will have to be taken back,” the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala’s Wayanad, tweeted. The ‘mafiveer’ jibe was a reference to prime minister Modi offering farmers an ‘apology’ in November last year after the three farm laws were scrapped. This is Rahul Gandhi’s fourth ‘Agnipath’-focused tweet-attack this week. On Friday, June 17,  he slammed Modi for listening only to his ‘friends’ and ignoring the voices of hundreds across several states who have staged violent protests against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme. Citing measures like demonetisation and the farm laws – he said: “The PM does not understand what the people of the country want, as he cannot hear anything except the voice of his ‘friends’.”