The Congress, on Thursday, hit out the government over the Agnipath scheme for recruitment of soldiers on a short-term basis, saying it carries multiple risks and subverts the longstanding traditions and ethos of the armed forces, and may turn out to be a case of "penny wise and security foolish".
Congress leader P. Chidambaram said retired defence officers have almost unanimously opposed the scheme, and he believes that many serving officers share the same view.
He addressed a joint press conference with party leaders Ajay Maken, Sachin Pilot and Pawan Khera.
"The Agnipath scheme is controversial, carries multiple risks, subverts the long-standing traditions and ethos of the armed forces and there is no guarantee that the soldiers recruited under the scheme will be better trained and motivated to defend the country," Chidambaram said in a statement.
The Congress leader said the first concern is that the Agnipath soldier will be trained for six months, will serve for another 42 months, and after that 75 per cent of the recruits will be discharged.
"It appears to us that the scheme makes a mockery of training; inducts into the defence forces an ill-trained and ill-motivated soldier; and discharges a disappointed and unhappy ex-soldier into the society," he said.
He said the age of recruitment—17.5-21 years—raises numerous questions as a large part of the youth will be totally excluded from serving in the defence forces.
The stated objective of savings on the pension bill is a weak argument and has not been established beyond doubt, he said, adding that on the other hand, the short six-month period of training and unusually short 42 month period of service may have negative consequences on quality, efficiency and effectiveness.
"We fear that the scheme may turn out to be a case of penny wise and security foolish'," he said.
Chidambaram said several distinguished defence officers have pointed out that a fighting soldier must take pride in his unit, must be willing to lay down his life for his country and comrades, must not be risk averse and must be capable of exhibiting leadership.
"They fear that each one of these objectives will be in jeopardy under the scheme," he said.
The Congress leader said announcements by the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of education on post-discharge opportunities appear to be after-thoughts.
"They show that the scheme was poorly conceived and hastily drawn up. A major change in the mode of recruitment should have been examined thoroughly and a pilot scheme should have been tried and tested. Nothing of that sort has been done," he said, noting that several experts have suggested alternative models to address the issues of inadequate recruitment to the defence forces.
There is no indication that the alternatives were examined, he claimed.
"Given the situation on our borders," the former home minister said, "it is imperative that we have soldiers in our defence forces who are young, well-trained, motivated, happy, satisfied and assured of their future."
The Agnipath scheme does not advance any of these objectives, he said.
"It is our duty to warn the country of the consequences of a hastily drawn up scheme. We would urge the government to keep the Agnipath scheme in abeyance, hold wide consultations with serving and retired officers, and address the issues of quality, efficiency and economy without compromising on any of the three considerations," the Congress leader said.
The government has claimed that there is no change in the Army recruitment system under 'Agnipath' scheme and the number of personnel to be recruited in the first year of its rollout would only make up to three percent of the armed forces.
There have been widespread protests against the new model of Army recruitment.
The government unveiled Agnipath on Tuesday -- calling it a "transformative" scheme-- for the recruitment of soldiers in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis.
Under the scheme, around 46,000 soldiers will be recruited this year between the ages of 17-and-a-half years and 21 years into the three services, the defence ministry said.
