SKM To Hold Nationwide Protest Against Centre's Agnipath Military Recruitment Scheme on June 24

On June 24, farmer leader Rakesh Tikait announced that the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) will stage a nationwide protest against the Centre's Agnipath military recruitment scheme.

He claimed the decision to protest was made during a meeting of SKM's coordination committee in Karnal, and he called youths, civil society, and political parties to join the demonstrations on Friday.

"By decision of the SKM Coordination Committee in Karnal, protests against the Agnipath scheme would be staged at district and tehsil headquarters across the country on June 24."

An appeal is being made to mobilise youth, citizen organisations, and political parties. Mr Tikait, BKU's national spokesperson, tweeted in Hindi that the BKU's (Bharatiya Kisan Union) planned protest for June 30 will now take place on June 24.

Mr Tikait's BKU, which was a part of the SKM-led 2020-21 protests in Delhi against the now-repealed farm laws, had previously called for a protest against the Agnipath scheme on June 30.

Previously, Tikait also claimed that the new recruitment plan is not in the best interests of farmers’ sons. Farmers will begin a nationwide movement against the central government's scheme, according to him.

According to a story in the Hindi daily Hindustan, he asked the government what a farmer's kid would do after retiring from the army after four years of duty. Tikait told reporters in Haridwar that the government must respond to the concerns raised by stakeholders.

About Agnipath Scheme

The Agnipath Scheme is a new scheme introduced by the Indian government on June 14, 2022, to recruit soldiers below the rank of commissioned officers into the three armed military services. The Agnipath Scheme will be the sole means of military recruiting. Agniveers, a new military rank, will be assigned to those recruited under this system. The lack of consultation and public discourse surrounding the scheme's implementation has been criticized. The scheme is set to go into effect in September 2022.