Arsonists have no place in armed forces: Top military official
text_fields
New Delhi: Lieutenant General Anil Puri, one of those behind the "Agnipath" programme, asserted that "arsonists" have no place in the armed forces, NDTV reported.
"We do not stand for arson. These people [protesters] have no place with us. There is not an iota of indiscipline [in the armed forces]," NDTV quoted Lt Gen Puri on Saturday.
He made the statement talking to NDTV when many states of India were marred with violent incidents in the guise of protesting against the 'Agnipath' programme. Military aspirants unleashed severe vandalism on public assets, particularly the railway, destroying amenities in railway stations, putting rail coaches to fire, destroying communication systems and hampering the smooth operation of the country's major public transport system.
Lt. General Puri, the Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs, claimed that the protests came from bitterness among a meagre section of military aspirants who were preparing for entering service in the last two years, which was affected by the pandemic, "and not against the 'Agnipath' programme itself", NDTV quotes.
Further, he stated that the programme does not have to do anything about cost-cutting but to make forces younger, modern and effective. He added that training Agniveers (those recruited through the programme) would become expensive in the future.