Agnipath protests: Aspirants block roads in parts of Haryana

On Saturday, the home ministry announced that 10 per cent of vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces and the Assam Rifles would be reserved for Agniveers and also gave a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit.

More protests were witnessed in parts of Haryana on Monday against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme with district administration ordering closure of all private institutes which give coaching to youths for various recruitment exams in Mahendragarh and Jhajjar districts.

Armed forces aspirants blocked roads at a few places and demanded that the scheme be rolled back.

In Fatehabad, one such group blocked the Lal Batti Chowk, while several others staged a protest on roads in Rohtak district.

On a call given by some Khaps and supported by BKU (Chaduni) farmers' outfit, passage through few toll plazas was made free between 12 pm to 3 pm at some places, including in Ambala and Sonipat districts, as protesters gathered there against the Agnipath scheme.

A large number of farmers sat on Shambhu Toll Plaza near Ambala City and made it free for the public for three hours, BKU (Chaduni) claimed.

In Ambala, a large number of police personnel were deployed at the toll plaza to deal with any disturbance, officials said.

Meanwhile, Mahendergarh and Jhajjar district administrations ordered closure of the private coaching institutions till further orders.

According to the order issued by the Mahendergarh Deputy Commissioner Jai Krishan Abhir, the institutes were shut down in view of the heavy traffic of youngsters they deal in, and the likelihood of this section to join the protest.

''There is an apprehension that the youths enrolled in these institutions may involve in the protest against Agnipath scheme and can cause breach of peace and disturbance of public tranquility besides posing grave danger to human life as well as safety and damage to public property,” Abhir said in his order.

A similar order was also issued by the Jhajjar DC.

The orders were issued by deputy commissioners of both the district in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Amid continuing protests in Haryana and Punjab against the scheme, which seeks to recruit jawans into the army, the navy and the air force for a four-year-period, security has been stepped up at key installations in the two states, officials said. There was a heavy deployment of police at railway stations, including those in Ambala, Rewari and Sonipat in Haryana and Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar in Punjab to prevent any untoward incident, they said. In a communication to all police commissioners and senior superintendents of police in the state on Sunday, Punjab's Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) said offices and installations of the central government departments needed stronger security while protection around other vital installations needed to be enhanced. Noting that the agitators were being mobilized and calls for Bharat Bandh were being made through social media, the ADGP said there is a need to activate dedicated social media cells and monitor their activities, the communication said. The Centre had on last Tuesday unveiled the Agnipath scheme under which youths between 17-and-a-half and 21 years would be inducted in the three services for four-year tenure.

Twenty-five per cent of the recruits will be retained for regular service. The government projected this scheme as a major overhaul of the decades-old selection process to enhance the youthful profile of the services. On Thursday, it relaxed the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment this year as protests against the scheme intensified. The announcement of the new scheme came in the backdrop of recruitment into the military remaining being stalled for over two years due to COVID-19. On Saturday, the home ministry announced that 10 per cent of vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces and the Assam Rifles would be reserved for 'Agniveers' and also gave a three-year relaxation in the upper age limit. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also approved a proposal to reserve 10 per cent of vacancies in the defence ministry for 'Agniveers' who meet the eligibility criteria.