Agnipath a betrayal of soldiers, Cong will scrap it when voted to power: Rahul

Stepping up Congress's attack on the Centre's military recruitment policy, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday termed the Agnipath scheme a "betrayal" of soldiers and ex-service personnel, and promised that the Congress would scrap it when voted to power.

Addressing a gathering of ex-servicemen in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal via video conference, Gandhi alleged that the BJP government had diluted the long-standing contract between the nation and its armed forces in a bid to cut pension and welfare expenditure.

Apologising for his inability to attend the event in person, Gandhi said adverse weather conditions had forced his helicopter to turn back, preventing him from reaching the venue.

"The relationship between the nation, the government and its soldiers is sacred," Gandhi said, claiming that the Agnipath scheme had weakened that bond. He claimed the policy was introduced to reduce spending on soldiers' pensions and welfare while enabling the government to channel resources elsewhere.

The Congress leader also accused the Centre of weakening public-sector defence enterprises and favouring a handful of large corporate groups in defence procurement and contracts.

Referring to a recent interaction with ex-servicemen's representatives, Gandhi said concerns had been raised over the withdrawal of disability pension-related benefits, including tax exemptions, and other issues affecting veterans.

He also criticised the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP), alleging that the interests of serving and retired armed forces personnel had not been adequately protected.

Expanding his attack to the government's economic and foreign policy decisions, Gandhi alleged that Modi is compromised.

Gandhi also warned that opening India's agricultural market to American products could hurt domestic farmers. Pointing to the vast differences in scale, mechanisation and technological capabilities between the two countries, he argued that small and marginal Indian farmers would struggle to compete with large American agribusinesses, putting rural livelihoods and food security at risk.

The Congress leader also targeted the government's economic record, arguing that small and medium enterprises had already been hit by demonetisation and the implementation of the GST. Increased imports from the United States, he said, could further undermine domestic manufacturing and employment generation.

Noting that MSMEs have traditionally been a major source of jobs, Gandhi said sectors such as textiles, handicrafts, footwear, auto components and small-scale manufacturing could face additional pressure if they were forced to compete with rising imports.

He also expressed concern over what he described as the concentration of strategic assets — including ports, airports and defence contracts — in the hands of a few business groups, alleging that the government's policies disproportionately benefited select industrialists at the cost of broader national interests.