Agnipath scheme protest Highlights | 5 trains targeted by students in Bihar; BJP office set on fire in Nawada

Bihar witnessed largescale violence on Thursday (June 16) against the newly introduced Agnipath, the recruitment plan for armed forces, with trains being burnt, and buses vandalised by angry protestors. 

In Nawada, BJP MLA Aruna Devi was attacked while she was on her way to a local court. Agitators pelted stones at her car injuring five people, including the leader. BJP's office in Nawada was also attacked and vandalised. Read More

There were protests in Kangra and Hamirpur districts of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday against the Centre's Agnipath scheme for four-year contractual recruitment in the armed forces. The protesters in Kangra, led by Youth Congress district president Pankaj Kumar, tried to reach Dharamshala where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to hold a roadshow but were stopped by police several km away at Gaggal.

The protesters raised slogans against the government and the prime minister and demanded the rollback of the scheme which they claimed was "a cruel joke" on the unemployed youths of the country.

Over 34 trains were cancelled and eight more partially cancelled on Thursday due to protests against the "Agnipath" scheme to recruit youngsters into the armed forces and delays in the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) exams. 

The railways said 72 trains were also running late due to the protests. Five mail and express trains and 29 passenger trains were cancelled. Protests were reported from several places across the country against the Agnipath scheme.

The protests against the Centre's new soldier recruitment scheme spread to different parts of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday with defence service candidates pelting stones at a government bus in Agra, and staging demonstrations in Bulandshahr and Ballia.

As violent protests against the new recruitment scheme Agnipath raged across several states, the government on Thursday issued a clarification, asserting that not only the new model will bring in new capabilities to the armed forces but will also open up avenues for youth in the private sector as well as help them in becoming entrepreneurs with the aid of the financial package.

Union minister and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday urged students protesting against the Agnipath scheme to stop their agitation and keep away from those inciting them, as he asserted that the initiative is in the interests of them, armed forces and the country.

The demand of the youth protesting against the Centre's newly announced Agnipath scheme is justified, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday. Kejriwal said that it is not right to keep the dreams of the youth of the country tied to only four years.

In a tweet in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi said there are many dreams for the future in the eyes of those preparing for recruitment in the armed forces such as serving the country and their parents. "What will the new army recruitment scheme give them? After 4 years, no job guarantee, no pension facility = no rank, no pension. @narendramodi ji don't crush the dreams of the youth," she said.

Scores of defence job aspirants led by the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) staged protests in several parts of Rajasthan on Thursday against the Centre's Agnipath scheme for four-year contractual recruitment in the armed forces.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday welcomed the Centre's scheme for short-term recruitment in the armed forces saying it is a good opportunity for the youths of the state where serving in the defence is a much sought after profession.

The protests against Agniveer scheme turned violent in Bihar after agitators attacked, Aruna Devi, representing Warisaliganj of Nawada district. The MLA's vehicle was damaged in the attack.

The BJP office was set on fire in Bihar's Nawada district over a protest against the government's recently announced Agniveer scheme. 

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati hit out at the Union government over its new 'Agnipath scheme' of recruiting soldiers, terming it “unfair towards rural youth”.

Protests against the Centre's 'Agnipath' scheme for hiring jawans on a short-term contractual basis continued across Bihar for the second consecutive day on Thursday as aspirants preparing for jobs in defence forces disrupted railway and road traffic in Jehanabad, Buxar and Nawada districts.

Thousands of youths assembled at the Jahanabad railway station on Patna-Gaya rail route on Thursday and blocked the tracks as protests against the Centre's Agnipath scheme entered day two in Bihar. Incidents of stone pelting were also reported from Arrah. Earlier on Wednesday, a large number of youths demonstrated in Muzaffarpur and Buxar districts of the state and disrupted road and rail traffic.