TRS Launches Scathing Attack On BJP Over Agnipath

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi launched a scathing attack on the union government over the Agnipath scheme, saying that the scheme was designed by the Modi government only to introduce contract jobs in the armed forces.

Speaking to the media after taking part in several development and inaugural programmes in Balkonda Assembly constituency of Nizamabad district on Saturday, Finance Minister T Harish Rao lambasted the union government for "compromising national security" with the launch of the scheme and for making efforts to privatise the defence sector too like other public sector units the Vizag Steel Plant and the Life Insurance Corporation.

While terming the violent protests against Agnipath and the death of a Telangana youth on Friday as unfortunate, Rao also stridently criticised the BJP leaders for passing on the blame to the TRS government over the Secunderabad railway station incidents and said that it was shameful that the BJP leaders were speaking so heinously.

"Since the announcement of the Agnipath scheme, thousands of youth in various States have been taking to streets demanding a rollback of the contractualisation of jobs in the armed forces, and violent protests are being reported across the country. If the Secunderabad violence was a handiwork of the TRS government, then the same argument should be made of both Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath and Nitish Kumar, and they too should be held responsible for the violent protests in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively," Rao said.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media in Karimnagar, Minister for Civil Supplies Gangula Kamalakar accused the BJP leaders of linking the Secunderabad violence to the TRS to cover up the failure of the Modi government.

In Warangal, Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must apologise to the nation and to the parents of Rakesh over the Agnipath scheme. "With the introduction of the Agnipath, Modi is playing with the lives of lakhs of youths who are dreaming of joining the armed forces. He must withdraw the scheme immediately," Rao said.

Minister for Forests Indrakaran Reddy too demanded that the Centre withdraw Agnipath immediately. He said that the fact that 75% of the recruits under the scheme would be sent out after four years raised questions and suspicions. Modi's unilateral decisions and poor vision were destroying the nation, Reddy said.

TRS MLA Balka Suman too expressed regret over the death of a Telangana youth during the protest at the Secunderabad railway station and alleged that Modi's "fascist policies" were claiming the lives of innocent youth.