On Friday (July 22), the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed that the Indian Railways suffered a whopping loss of ₹259.44 crores due to damage and destruction caused during ‘the protest’ over the Agnipath scheme.
He made the revelation in the Upper House of the Parliament. The Agnipath scheme was launched by the Indian government, along with the chiefs of the three armed forces, on June 14 this year.
Under the scheme, youth between the age of 17.5 to 21 are to be recruited for a period of 4 years. While 25% will be retained in the armed forces, the remaining Agniveers will receive a sum of ₹11 lakhs and employment preferences in the Defence Ministry, police forces and paramilitary services.
Indian Railways suffered a loss of Rs 259.44 crores due to damage and destruction of its assets in agitations against the Agnipath Scheme, said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in Rajya Sabha
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2022
(File pic) pic.twitter.com/hFhA5CIPT0
Deliberate dissemination of misinformation by coaching centres and Youtubers triggered large-scale violence over the newly launched recruitment scheme.
Scores of armed forces aspirants took to the streets under the pretext of ‘peaceful protests’ and demonstrations. While demanding a rollback of the government scheme, they vandalised public property, burnt trains and brought life to a standstill across various States of India.
Violence over Agnipath scheme
In the Southern State of Telangana, students dissatisfied with the Agnipath recruitment scheme vandalised the Secunderabad railway station and set a train on fire.
The armed force aspirants also blocked the railway tracks in the Narwana town in the Jind district of Haryana. They were seen disrupting railway service and standing on railway tracks with a tricolour in hand.
In Palwal, the police had to fire aerial shots to disrupt the mob which was pelting stones at them. During the scuffle, several police vehicles were damaged and police personnel were injured.
Similar scenes were observed in Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. Violent protestors, with their faces covered, were seen vandalising a railway station and throwing objects on the railway tracks.
In Uttar Pradesh, the violent mob of aspirants vandalised the windscreen of roadway buses on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. They also set a train ablaze in Balia during the protest.
The fury of the ‘students’ reached its zenith in the state of Bihar. On Friday (June 17), they attempted to vandalise the Hajipur railway station but their plans were thwarted by the police.
