Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, on Sunday, slammed the Centre's Agnipath recruitment scheme and said it had left the country's youth disappointed and frustrated.
The BSP chief said the government should take Parliament into confidence before announcing decisions that impact national security and urged the government to reconsider its decision and requested the youth to exercise restraint.
Protests have erupted in various parts of the country against the new recruitment scheme in the Armed Forces. In some places, the protests turned violent as trains were set ablaze.
"At a time when the vast population of the country, especially the youth, except a handful of people, is forced to fight tirelessly every day on the path of poverty, inflation, unemployment, stress etc., the recruitment scheme has made many disappointed and frustrated," Mayawati tweeted on Sunday.
"It is the result of over-limiting the number and possibilities of recruitment in railways, army and paramilitary forces. Youth's anger is boiling, which needs to be handled properly," she added.
"It is again requested that for the future of the country the government should reconsider its decision by taking seriously the issue of pain and the future of these suffering youth and take Parliament into confidence in such important matters related to the security of the country. The youth are also appealed to exercise restraint," she said.
This is the second time that Mayawati has demanded that the Centre reconsider its decision on Agnipath, a recruitment scheme that offers four years of job to youngsters in the armed forces. The opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, have already opposed the Agnipath scheme.
On June 16, Mayawati had made a series of tweets advising the Centre for a rethink on the scheme that the ruling party leaders have been hailing as “path breaking”.