Agnipath an attempt to create armed ‘cadre’ for the BJP: Mamata Banerjee

‘The BJP has given a four-year lollipop to youths to make them goons’, said the Chief Minister in State Assembly

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on June 20 that the BJP was trying to create its own armed “cadre” base through the new defence recruitment programme.

“Agnipath is actually a scheme to prepare cadres for the BJP. They will be the ones that will guard BJP’s office and help them to loot votes. The BJP has given a four-year lollipop to youths to make them goons,” the Chief Minister said in the State Assembly.

The Trinamool Congress [TMC] chairperson wondered whether after four years the youths who have had arms training would have approval to use arms. “What will they do after that? Then is the BJP making these youths goons,” she asked. 

The Chief Minister said that the Centre had promised two crore jobs every year. “Now before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, they are only fooling the people of the country in the name of these schemes.”

Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, who was in Tripura on June 20, also criticised the Agnipath scheme and demanded action against BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya who had said that ‘Agniveers’ could be employed as security guards at BJP offices.

BJP legislators, led by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, walked out of the House in protest against the Chief Minister’s remark. Mr. Adhikari said her remarks amounted to disrespecting the army.

During her address, the Chief Minister touched on other issues, including the use of bulldozers by certain BJP governments and remarks by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma directed at Prophet Muhammad.