The Jharkhand Congress on Monday held protests against the Agnipath scheme, demanding the Centres to roll it back immediately.

The Congress leaders observed a “satyagraha” in all 81 Assembly constituencies across the state on Monday to demand a withdrawal of the scheme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 14, 2022, unveiled the Agnipath scheme. The government had said youth between the ages of 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted for a four-year tenure, while 25 per cent of them will be subsequently inducted for regular service.

The government had on June 16 increased the upper age limit for recruitment under the scheme to 23 years from 21 for the year 2022.

In Ranchi, a satyagraha march led by former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay and state party president Rajesh Thakur was taken from party headquarters to Ranchi district collectorate where it took the shape of a dharna.

“This is part of the party satyagraha against the recruitment scheme which not only plays with the future of lakhs of youths but also is a threat for the country’s security. The Congress will continue its agitation against the recruitment scheme and force the Modi-led BJP government to go on the back foot as it did in the case of Farm Laws. Through our agitations we urge the Centre to withdraw the policy against which youths had organised protests across the country in the recent weeks,” said Thakur.

Sahay said that the Modi government would have to withdraw this scheme sooner or later.

“We have seen in history that when the youth of the country have stood up against anything then it has ended only after changing power at the centre of decision making. The Modi government should stop its adamant stance and withdraw the scheme as it did with the Land Acquisition Act and farm laws,” said Sahay.

Meanwhile, state health minister Banna Gupta led a dharna along with senior Congress leaders of the district at the Jamshedpur district collectorate in West Assembly constituency.

“Recruitment and training in the defence sector is among the toughest for any aspirant. The new recruitment scheme is a cruel joke on the future of such aspirants. It proposes six months of training for such aspirants raising questions on the efficacy of the training and then proposes retirement after three and half years. This uncertain future has led to a series of protests by youths across the country. But unfortunately the government is not willing to listen to them. This shows the insensitivity of the BJP government at the Centre,” Gupta said.

Jharkhand finance minister Rameshwar Oraon, along with senior party leader Alok Kumar Dubey and other party leaders, staged satyagraha at Gumla as part of Lohardagga Assembly constituency.