Protests against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for hiring jawans on a short-term contractual basis continued across Bihar for the second consecutive day on Thursday as aspirants preparing for jobs in defence forces disrupted railway and road traffic in Jehanabad, Buxar and Nawada districts.
Protestors blocked the movement of trains on Patna-Gaya and Patna-Buxar routes by lying down on the railway tracks in Jehanabad and Buxar districts. However, Bihar Police along with their railway counterparts immediately removed the protestors from the tracks.Hundreds of agitators blocked National Highway-83 in Jehanabad and burned tyres demanding the scrapping of the scheme. Angry protestors took out processions in the three districts and other parts of the state.
Protestors had disrupted railway and road traffic in various parts of the state also on Wednesday.
Under the 'Agnipath' scheme, around 45,000 people aged between 17.5 and 21 years will be inducted into the armed forces for a four-year period, following which most of them will have to take compulsory retirement sans pension or gratuity benefits although some will be retained.
Of the total annual recruits, only 25 per cent will be allowed to continue for another 15 years under permanent commission.
The Union cabinet approved the "transformative" scheme on Tuesday. Under the old system, youths aged between 16.5 and 21 years were selected for a minimum of 15 years of service and used to get pension after retirement.
Defence ministry sources said the new scheme, formally named Tour of Duty, would now be the lone avenue for the recruitment of ordinary soldiers and that those who had already applied for, or appeared in armed forces recruitment tests, would need to apply afresh.
“The army had sought applications from eight districts, including Muzaffarpur, in 2021. Thousands of us applied and took the physical tests,” a young protester said on Wednesday in Muzaffarpur, the epicentre of the protests in Bihar.
“Those who passed the physical test were subjected to medical tests. I was one such candidate. However, it’s been around a year now and the final results have not come. We are feeling cheated now (with the announcement of the new scheme).”
Anjay Singh, another protester, said: “Even the good-for-nothing MLAs and MPs are elected for five years, and they are going to recruit soldiers for just four years. This is injustice; it will also affect the nation’s security.”
Many protesters had assembled outside the army recruitment office and railway station in Muzaffarpur, demanding withdrawal of the new scheme. Police were called in but the protesters refused to disperse. A stalemate continued till late evening.
In Buxar, protesters stoned trains and disrupted railway traffic for some time. Thousands blocked NH-31 in Begusarai for hours.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav said: “If the biggest employers in the country – the railways and the armed forces – start giving jobs on contract, what will the youths do? Will they be used to provide security to the BJP’s capitalist friends after completing their studies and four years of service?”
He said the scheme would ensure that a large population, trained in firearm use, would become unemployed at a young age. “Will it not create a law-and-order problem in the country?” Tejashwi asked.
