Youth Anger May effect BJP in Himachal

By Our Special Correspondent

If the numbers and the mood of the youth are any indication, the BJP should at least reconsider the Agneepath policy in the Himachal Pradesh elections.

In 2019-20, the No. of youth18, 798 youths from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana joined the Army in the recruitment drive. Punjab had the highest draw at 7,813, followed by Himachal Pradesh at 5,882 and Haryana at 5,097.

Hill State has about 1.20 million security personnel and about the same number of ex-servicemen. Himachal Congress leaders are expected to get a large number of votes in the Assembly elections later this year. Congress' calculations are also based on outrage among government employees over the new pension scheme.

The Congress alleges that Agneepath is anti-youth and destroys the army. "Thousands of young people from almost every family in Kangra, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Una have joined the armed forces. Agnipat will not benefit from them due to a short contract of four years. This is fraud; it will affect the elections, "said Sukhwinder Singh Sukh, a senior leader of the Himachal Pradesh Congress.

Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party are now trying to turn the fireplace into an election issue. Former minister, AICC secretary Sudhir Sharma and HPCC general secretary Kewal Singh Pathania submitted a memorandum to the Kangra district authority against the scheme. Congress marches in Shimla against fire.

The AAP has staged protests across the state. Party state unit Chief Surjeet Thakur wrote a letter to Governor Rajendra Arlekar against the fire. “Controversial contract recruitment in the Armed Forces has shattered the dreams of many enthusiasts. The government should immediately withdraw the Agneepath scheme and resume the normal recruitment process,”Thakur wrote in a letter to the governor.