India News | Bihar BJP Minister Calls Agnipath Protesters ‘terrorists'
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Terrorists and goons had been "hired" by political parties to stage violent protests against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, a BJP minister of Bihar alleged on Tuesday.
Patna, Jun 21 (PTI) Terrorists and goons had been "hired" by political parties to stage violent protests against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, a BJP minister of Bihar alleged on Tuesday.
Ram Surat Rai, who holds the revenue portfolio, made the statement a day after his party colleague and MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul blamed the protests on "jihadis” opposed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Terrorists and goons were behind the protests. They were hired and used by political parties," Rai said.
Although he did not name any party, BJP leaders like Union minister Giriraj Singh have accused the opposition RJD of being behind the violence and arson in the state last week.
Also Read | Rain Forecast: IMD Warns of High Rainfall in Coastal Maharashtra and Goa Till June 25, Issues Orange Alert.
The saffron party's stance has met with disapproval from its ally, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U), which has held the view that the protests against the Agnipath scheme were spontaneous.
Several states including Bihar witnessed violent protests after the announcement of the new model that seeks to recruit youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years to 21 for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)