The armed forces recruitment scheme ‘Agnipath’, which is facing widespread opposition across the country, has also been strongly criticised by retired Indian Army officer General GD Bakshi, who highlighted several drawbacks of the policy.
Gen Bakshi, a Kargil war hero, warned that the scheme could have disastrous outcomes and in worst case scenario, recruits released after four years could even end up joining terror or insurgent groups. He also warned of the lack of integration and experience among recruits in a four-year duty model.
Asserting that amid high threat from China and Pakistan, it was not an opportune moment for India to generate such an “organisational turbulence”.
Taking to Twitter, Gen Bakshi compared the policy to the quasi-conscript force of China and appealed to the government to discontinue it. “Was flabbergasted by the Agniveer scheme. I thought initially it was a trial being done on a pilot basis. This is an across the board change to convert Indian armed forces to a short tenure quasi-conscript force like the Chinese. For God’s sake PLEASE DON’T do it,” he said.
