Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday criticized the Agnipath scheme by questioning the future of Agniveers in the country. He further accused the government of using big industrialists to spread a positive picture of the scheme.
"Itne bade paimane pe agar aap training kara rahe ho, sarkaar ka budget usme kharch ho raha hai, toh unka bhawishya kya hoga? Koi bhi nawjawan jo fauj ke liye taiyyari kar raha hai wo Agniveer ko bilkul accept nahi kar sakta (In such a large-scale training program, with the government's budget being spent on it, what will be their future? Any young person preparing for the armed forces cannot accept the Agniveer scheme)," he said in Parliament.
He further accused the government of using industrialists and corporate honchos to help spread the positive side of the Agniveer scheme. "Bade bade udyogpatiyo se tweet karaya gaya tha ki Agniveer se acchi koi yojna nahi hai. Inko hum naukri de denge. Hum apne yaha rakh lenge. (Big industrialists were made to tweet that there is no better scheme than Agniveer. They said they would give jobs to the Agniveers and hire them in their companies.)"
Akhilesh also mentioned that even the government in power agrees that Agniveer is not a good scheme as it has asked other state governments to give quota to Agniveers once they complete their 4 years.
Yadav criticized the government, asking what Uttar Pradesh has gained from the Budget and the MoUs worth Rs 5 lakh crore. He mentioned that the BJP had promised free electricity to farmers, but they haven't received it.
He also questioned whether the youth will get real jobs from these internships, pointing out that a Rs 5000 stipend from the government won't help in securing jobs.
Yadav also responded to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's comment about his uncle, Shivpal Yadav, not becoming the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
During the UP assembly session, Adityanath, while welcoming the new Leader of the Opposition, Mata Prasad Pandey, had criticized the Samajwadi Party.
“I congratulate you for your selection as the LoP... 'Ek alag vishay hai ki aapne Chacha ko gaccha de hi diya' (It is a different subject that you have fooled the uncle). 'Chacha bechara hamesha hi aise maar khata hai. Unki niyati hi aisi hai. (The uncle always gets beaten up like this. Such is his fate). Kyuki bhatija hamesha bhaybheet rehta hai. (because the nephew is always scared),” the chief minister was quoted by ANI as saying.