The Congress on Friday demanded rollback of the Agnipath scheme, while the BJP went all out to defend the scheme for recruitment in defence services.
Senior Rajya Sabha MP and Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal demanded an urgent meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence to discuss the controversial 'Agnipath' military recruitment scheme, at a time violent protests have erupted against it.
In a letter to Standing Committee Chairman Jual Oram, the Congress MP also urged that major stakeholders and defence experts be invited to seek their opinion on the programme.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Deepinder Singh Hooda said the scheme should be taken back immediately and a three-year age relaxation be announced for youths who could not join the armed forces due to delays in recruitment.
Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi too attacked the government over the Agnipath scheme, saying the BJP dispensation was required to amend rules under the scheme soon after its announcement indicating it was imposed on the youth in "haste", and demanded its immediate withdrawal.
Urging the protesters to be patient and not resort to violence, Hooda asked the government to apologise to the youth of the country for bringing the new short-term recruitment scheme for the armed forces.
"The government should immediately take back the Agnipath scheme. It is neither in favour of national security nor national interests and certainly not in favour of the country's youth," he told reporters at a press conference.
Recalling the death of over 700 farmers during the year-long farmer agitation, Hooda flagged the alleged suicide of a Haryana youth for losing his chance to join the Army.
"Don't make the same mistake as you (government) did during the farmers' agitation which saw the death of over 700 protesting farmers," he said, demanding immediate withdrawal of the Agnipath scheme.
Hooda said the Congress stands by the aspirants for jobs in the defence services and will fight for their rights and demands.
The party also demanded that the government convene either a special session of Parliament or an all-party meeting to discuss the armed forces recruitment issue and build a bipartisan consensus on the matter.
Claiming the Agnipath scheme is not suited for India, Hooda alleged the government is bringing schemes from other countries which shows that it is infatuated with western concepts.He alleged there was a disconnect between the government policies and rural India, the prime examples of which are the land acquisition act, the farm laws and now the Agnipath scheme.
In a tweet in Message Priyanka Gandhi said "not even 24 hours had passed" that the BJP government had to change the rules of the new army recruitment scheme. This means the scheme is being imposed on the youth in haste, the Congress general secretary said.
"Narendra Modi ji, withdraw this scheme immediately. Give appointments and put out the result of the stalled recruitment in the Air Force," Priyanka Gandhi said. "Conduct army recruitment (with age relaxation) as before," she demanded. The BJP leaders lauded the government's decision to raise the upper age limit for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme to 23 years.
BJP president J P Nadda said it shows that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fully seized of the concerns of the country's youth and is making efforts for their bright future.
Underlining that the intention of the government is very clear, and it is sensitive, Union Minister Giriraj Singh said the recruitment process will start in a few days, and requested all youngsters to start preparing for it.