Agnipath recruitment rallies successfully conducted in Punjab, no plan to shift: Sources

PTI

New Delhi, September 14

Indian Army’s Agnipath scheme is progressing as per schedule for 2022-23 and recruitment rallies in Punjab's Ludhiana and Gurdaspur have been successfully conducted with the full support of civil administration, sources said.

They also stressed that there was no plan to shift rallies from Punjab.

The clarification came after the army's Jalandhar Cantt zonal recruitment officer wrote to Punjab Chief Secretary V K Janjua and Principal Secretary (Employment Generation) Kumar Rahul that there was no “clear-cut” support from the local civil administration on necessary arrangements for the rallies.

He also said the rallies will be held in abeyance or shifted to nearby states if such a commitment is not received. However, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday assured complete backing to the Army's Agnipath recruitment drives.

In the initial phase, the army had scheduled rallies in Ludhiana (August), Patiala and Gurdaspur (September), covering around a dozen districts of Punjab.

It is clarified that, specifically in the state of Punjab, recruitment rallies in Ludhiana and Gurdaspur have been successfully conducted with the full support of civil administration, the sources said.

"The registration and footfall of candidates have been encouraging as per trends of previous years," a source said.

It is reiterated that there is no plan to shift recruitment rallies from Punjab to any other states, the sources said.

Sources also clarified that further rallies at Patiala (September 17-30), Ferozepur (November 1-16) and Jalandhar (November 21-December 10), including for women Agniveers, will also be conducted as scheduled in close coordination with civil administration.

The Centre had recently unveiled the Agnipath scheme for the recruitment of youth aged between 17 and a half and 21 in the Army, Navy and the Air Force, largely on a four-year short-term contractual basis.

The youth recruited under the scheme will be known as Agniveers. After the completion of the four-year tenure, 25 per cent of the recruits from each batch will be offered regular service.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is in power in Punjab, had criticised the scheme, its chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said they will fully back the recruitment of Agniveers now that Agnipath is being implemented by the armed forces.

The Punjab chief minister also tweeted that all deputy commissioners have been directed to provide complete support to the Army authorities for recruitment drives.

"Any laxity shall be viewed seriously," Mann said, adding that every effort will be made to ensure the maximum number of candidates are selected from the state.