Rahul Gandhi's big charge: 'Agniveer scheme launched to save pension money, fund will go to Adani Defence'

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made a big charge against the BJP-led Central government and Adani Defence regarding the Agniveer recruitment scheme for the Indian Armed Forces. The Agnipath scheme, announced on June 14, 2022, provides for the recruitment of youngsters in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the scheme and said the money earmarked for soldiers’ pensions will allegedly go to Adani Defence, which will buy weapons with this money. He then said that Adani Defence will partner with American and Israeli companies for buying weapons. 

He also claimed that the Chinese Army personnel are trained to use modern weapons for 3-4 years. “Chinese Army personnel get training to use modern weapons for 3-4 years. If our Agniveers, who are trained for six months, are made to face the Chinese soldiers, can you imagine what will happen then?” Gandhi said at a Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra rally in Maharashtra’s Dondaicha. 

He further said: "Now why was Agniveer implemented? Because Narendra Modi wants the money earmarked for soldiers’ pensions to go to Adani Defence and Adani will buy weapons. Adani will then enter a partnership with American and Israeli companies. Adani will sell the same weapons to the Indian Armed Forces." 

Gandhi said that previously, defence PSUs like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) used to make and sell weapons to the Indian Armed Forces, a job which will now be undertaken by Adani. Apart from making the scathing allegation against the Centre and Adani Defence, the Gandhi scion also said that the Agniveers will lay down their lives but won’t get the status and respect of a martyr. 

“Earlier, HAL and BHEL used to make and sell weapons. Now, Adani will make weapons. Our Agniveer will go without training and lay down his life but still, he will not get the status and respect of a martyr. The money that was supposed to be spent on training, pension and safety of soldiers will now go to Adani,” Rahul Gandhi said at his Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 rally. 

Adani Defence order sheet

Adani Defence has its order book full with several orders from the Government of India. In February 2024, the company announced the development of a 500-acre ammunition complex in Kanpur that will produce small, medium and large caliber ammunition for the Indian Armed Forces, Paramilitary forces, and police. 

The 5,000-acre facility will produce 1,50,000-2,00,000 rounds of large caliber ammunition annually in the next 12 months. It will also produce medium caliber ammunition by 2026.  

Adani Defence has also expressed an interest in meeting the Indian Navy’s checklist for the Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH). As of February 2023, Adani Defence has contracts over Rs 1,000 crore with the Indian military for small arms, air defence radars and ammunition. 

Rahul Gandhi’s big claim against Agniveer 

This, however, is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi has attacked the Centre over the Agniveer scheme. Last month, Gandhi accused the Modi government of bringing in the Agniveer scheme to allegedly spend the defence budget for benefitting a big business house. 

“This is because the Modi government does not want to spend the defense budget on salary and other perks of soldiers. It wants to spend the entire amount for the benefit of a business house,” Gandhi was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. 

He made the allegation at a rally in Mohania located in Bihar’s Kaimur district bordering Uttar Pradesh. This is a region from where youngsters enrol in the armed forces on a large scale. He also claimed that an Agniveer will not get a salary and pension on par with a regular army soldier nor will he get access to the canteen.