After Agnipath faces poll fire, JD(U) says ‘discuss, remove flaws’

The JD(U) on Thursday added review of the Agnipath Army recruitment scheme to its list of expectations from the new NDA government, apart from four ministerial berths. The party may also push for its long-standing demand of special status for Bihar, now that it is set to be a part of the government at the Centre.

On Thursday, JD(U) supremo and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held a series of meetings, including with his 12 newly elected MPs, at his residence on Kamraj Lane in Delhi.

“There is anger among voters with regard to the Agnipath scheme. Our party wants that this scheme is discussed threadbare in the government to remove its flaws,” JD(U) national spokesperson K C Tyagi said after the meetings, while adding that the party’s support to the NDA was “unconditional”. Patna was among the cities that had seen protests against the Agnipath scheme, under which 75% of the new recruits are eased off at the end of four years of service with monetary benefits.

In the Army, two batches of 40,000 Agniveers have already completed training and are under posting. The third batch of 20,000 began training in November 2023. In the Navy, three batches of 7,385 Agniveers have completed training. In the IAF, 4,955 Agniveer Vayu trainees have completed training.

Tyagi also said that Bihar’s demand for special status was justified as after the carving out of Jharkhand, “Bihar was left with hardships and the problem of unemployment”, and that only granting it this tag could help it overcome them.

Asked about the BJP’s push for a contentious uniform civil code, Tyagi said: “We have said there should be wider consultation with all chief ministers and political parties to find a solution.”

Earlier, in an interview to The Indian Express, Tyagi