Former Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria Condemns Rahul Gandhi's Comment on Agniveer Scheme

New Delhi: Former Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria aka RKS Bhadauria has hit out at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments on the Agniveer Scheme of the Indian Army, which was initiated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre.

While in an exclusive conversation with Republic Senior Executive Editor Abhishek Kapoor and Senior Editor Shawan Sen, RKS Bhadauria reacted to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on the Indian Army’s Agniveer Scheme.

What did Rahul Gandhi say on Agniveer?

Rahul Gandhi said during a public rally that if the INDI Alliance were to come to power at the Centre after the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, it will scrap the 'Agniveer Scheme'. The Congress leader said that the 'Agniveer Scheme' is only for the poor and has divided the Army into “different classes”. He also remarked that if a person selected through the Agniveer Scheme were to sacrifice his life for the nation, he would not be treated as a “Shaheed” or martyr.

RKS Bhadauria reacts to Rahul Gandhi’s Agniveer remark

“Not only are the facts wrong, his (Rahul Gandhi’s) comments are absolutely outrageous. Jhooth-fareb ki raajneeti (politics of fraud) and absolutely gumraah karne ki yeh koshish hai… (an attempt to mislead),” remarked Bhadauria on Rahul Gandhi. 

“As far as the ‘Shaheed ka’ question that you asked, ‘Shaheed ka darja’ (that Rahul Gandhi said) kya hota hai? Koi aise shaheed hota hai, usse shaheed ka darja diya jaata hai (Anyone who sacrifices his life is called a martyr),” he said.

The former IAF Chief said that the Agniveer scheme “was designed looking at future requirements of the Armed Forces". He also slammed Rahul Gandhi for the incorrect narrative on the Agniveer Scheme.

“Agniveer ke jo terms and conditions hai, unko emoluments uss tarah se diye jayenge, and jo doosre hai unko udharse. And this narrative that has been built over Agniveer that ‘Gareeb ka beta aur amir ka beta, yeh Agniveer banenge aur baaki officers banenge… it is totally factually wrong and absolutely divisive. The selection process in the Armed Forces is totally merit-based. There is no religion and no reservation. For Agniveer, the qualification is 10 + 2 pass followed by a merit-based selection,” said the former Air Chief Marshal.

“Similarly, for officers, if I tell you the terms of the Short Service Commission (SSC) in the Indian Armed Forces, there is no pension and the tenure is of 10 years, extendable to 14 years. There are similar conditions in it and it is merit-based. All kinds of people are in the SSC and not just the rich. Post selection, people from all kinds of backgrounds pass out from the NDA (National Defence Academy) or OTA (Officers Training Academy)...there have been so many cases,” Bhadauria explained further.

The former IAF Chief said that Rahul Gandhi’s narrative on the Agniveer Scheme should be completely ignored.

“So, this complete narrative that only the minorities and the poor are going into Agniveer and the rest are becoming officers, and that there are different ‘classes’ in the Armed Forces, is totally wrong and an attempt to mislead, and something that must be thoroughly ignored,” said Bhadauria.