Rahul Gandhi is lying, every Agniveer in Haryana will get government job: Rajnath Singh

NEW DELHI: Three days ahead of polling in Haryana where 'Agnipath' has emerged as a major poll issue with the opposition attacking the govt on the scheme, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday launched a scathing counter attack on Congress's Rahul Gandhi, accusing him and his party of misleading the people and spreading false information about the Indian Army's short service scheme.

"Rahul Gandhi is trying to misguide the public. There has been a need for young blood in the armed forces for quite a long time. In countries like Britain, US, Israel, Russia and China, engagement with armed forces is done for small durations and keeping this in mind, after a lot of discussions, this scheme was introduced," Singh said ahead of Haryana elections on Oct 5.

The minister said the Agnipath scheme was started after consent by the armed forces. "Congress leaders are spreading lies that after they complete their service, jawans will have to run from pillar to post for income. The truth is that every Agniveer is provided a one-time package of around Rs 12 lakh after four years of service. This is completely tax free. 25% of Agniveers will continue as regulars in the armed forces on the basis of merit. States like Haryana, UP, Rajasthan, Odisha, Assam, MP, Chhattisgarh, Arunachal, Gujarat, Uttarakhand & Goa have announced quota for remaining Agniveers in govt jobs," Singh said.

Talking specifically of Haryana, Singh said BJP had made it clear in its manifesto that every Agniveer in the state will be provided a govt job. "This shows that Agniveer is like our family. Congress has lied that if an Agniveer dies in service, his family won't get anything. This is a lie...," Singh added.