Amid nationwide protests over the Centre’s Agnipath schemeHaryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Tuesday announced that the state government would give “guaranteed employment” to Agniveers once they are relieved from the defence forces after four years.
In a tweet posted by Khattar on his official Twitter handle, he wrote, “I make this announcement that under the Agnipath scheme, those Agniveers who shall come back after serving the nation for four years, those people shall be given employment in Haryana government.”
I declare that under ‘Agneepath Yojna’, Agniveers who come back after serving the country for 4 years will be given jobs in Haryana Government with guarantee.
— Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) June 21, 2022
The protests against the Union government’s Agnipath scheme had been intensifying over the past one week. In Haryana, too, violent protests have been seen at various places, including Palwal, Mahendragarh, Ballabgarh, Faridabad, Hisar, Fatehabad, Jind, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri and Rohtak.
The Haryana Police has registered multiple FIRs, booking over 1,000 youths allegedly involved in arson and stone pelting, blockades of national and state highways, and vandalising police and other government vehicles. A few of the accused have also been identified.
The military leadership has said those named in FIRs registered on charges of stone pelting and arson will not be allowed recruitment in any of the three defence services.
Opposition Indian National Congress leaders, including Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Randeep Surjewala, Kumari Selja, Udai Bhan and others, had earlier lambasted Khattar, asking him if he would ensure that those relieved of their services after four years would be ensured employment in the Haryana government.
Khattar’s announcement, the first such announcement by a state government, is seen as a reply to the Opposition that has been supporting the protestors.