The nation wide protest against the announcement of the Agnipath scheme of contractual recruitment of soldiers in the Indian army reached Belagavi district on Saturday.
A group of students and youth gathered at the taluk stadium to discuss the shape of the protest. Anjali Nimbalkar, MLA and Congress leader joined them.
The protestors said that the announcement had set fire to their dreams. “We have been dreaming of it all our life. But the government has destroyed them,’’ said Chittaranjan Phatak, one of the protestors.
Also read: Anger rages against Agnipath in many States
Shanmukh Kamble, a youth leader said that the youth were agitated, but had decided to take up a non-violent agitation. “We will go to High Court and Supreme Court to fight for justice. Before, that we would like to request the Union Government to withdraw the scheme. If it does not do so, we will go to court,” he said. He, however, said that the students would need financial assistance as they could not fight the cases by themselves.
Dr. Nimbalkar, said that she would stand with the students in their justified fight against the scheme.
“I am not afraid to expose the misdeeds of the ruling party. The hopeless BJP government, has brought in a useless scheme. It is aimed only at destroying the careers of young people and to see that they remain unemployed all their lives,’’ she said. I will support your agitation, she assured them.
The group plans to take up agitations in Khanapur and Belagavi this week.
