Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal and leader of the Trinamool Congress, urged the Narendra Modi-led Centre on Monday to raise the retirement age for ‘Agniveers,’ those hired under the recently announced Agniptah scheme, to 65 years old. If not, she claimed, they will face a “uncertain” future when their four-year contract expires.
‘What will these soldiers do after four years? What will be their fate? It’s uncertain,’ Banerjee was quoted by the news agency PTI as stating. ‘My motto is to create more employment opportunities unlike policies of the BJP- led central government that train people for four months and recruit them for four years… We demand that the retirement age be extended to 65 years,’ The head of the Trinamool Congress continued.
According to Banerjee, the saffron party created the new defence scheme was implemented with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in mind. People between the ages of 17.5 and 21 will be recruited into the military service of their choice for a period of four years under the Agnipath scheme. After this time, 25% of the Agniveers will be kept on, while the other 75% will be allowed to go back to normal civilian life.
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