Opposition gheraos government over caste-based recruitment in Army

The controversies around the Centre’s recently launched Agnipath recruitment scheme are far from over. The petty politics over the army recruitment scheme continues. This time, the opposition has resorted to hate-mongering and misinformation, that too without any fact-checking. They are accusing the central government of using caste as a factor for recruitment under the Agnipath scheme. However, it is going to backfire as the opposition never spends even a minute to strategise on how to criticise the government on any issue.

Opposition gheraos government over caste-based recruitment

The opposition and a BJP ally came out slamming the government, making a mountain out of molehill. They went beyond the limits of decency while criticising the saffron party over the issue. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh spewed venom against the Narendra Modi-led government over caste and religion certificates sought by candidates while submitting the recruitment application form.

Singh took to Twitter to share an image of the Indian Army recruitment application highlighting the section that asks for caste and religion certificates. He, in his tweet, claimed that the Prime Minister doesn’t consider Dalits, backwards, and tribal people capable of joining the Army.

“This is the first time in India’s history that caste is being asked in army recruitment. PM Modi, do you want to create ‘Agniveer’ or ‘Jativeer’,” Singh wrote in a post in Hindi on Twitter.

मोदी सरकार का घटिया चेहरा देश के सामने आ चुका है।
क्या मोदी जी दलितों/पिछड़ों/आदिवासियों को सेना भर्ती के क़ाबिल नही मानते?
भारत के इतिहास में पहली बार “सेना भर्ती “ में जाति पूछी जा रही है।
मोदी जी आपको “अग्निवीर” बनाना है या “जातिवीर” pic.twitter.com/fxgBre38Ft
— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) July 19, 2022

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and BJP MP Varun Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on the government. The Rashtriya Janata Dal leader stated that the “extremely casteist government of the Sangh (RSS) at the Centre” will now consider Agnipath recruits’ caste and religion while discharging 75 per cent of them.

Varun Gandhi too took the advantage of the opportunity to ask the government if someone’s caste will decide whether they are patriots or not. “The government should consider the impact on our national security by changing the established norms of the army,” he said.

BJP dismisses the allegations

However, the accusations have been swiftly dismissed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh saying that this is a “rumour”. Moreover, the saffron party has also accused the opposition of “belittling and insulting” the army, alleging that they were trying to instigate youngsters for street protests.

Rajnath Singh, during an interaction with reporters, said, “I want to make it clear that this is a rumour. The (recruitment) system which was in place before Independence is being continued and there is no change to this.”

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra lambasted on the opposition exposing them for how they are misinforming people by spreading false news. He informed that the army’s recruitment process dates back to pre-Independence. This was formalised by a “Special Army Order” after 1947, and the practice remains the same, he said.

Patra added, “The army had submitted an affidavit in response to a PIL in the Supreme Court in 2013 when the Congress-led UPA government was in power, that caste or religion has no role in its recruitment, and applicants are asked about this for administrative reasons.”

He also told why there is a need for information about the religion and caste of the soldier. If a soldier makes the supreme sacrifice while on duty, information about his religion helps the army in preparing for his last rites, he said.

Caste and religions are not new additions

Why is the opposition crying hoarse over the caste and religion section in the army application form? I mean, it is nothing new that caste and religion are being asked from the candidates. Religion is required for performing the last rites as per the religious rituals if the recruits die during training and soldiers die during their line of duty. In an affidavit filed in 2013 before the Supreme Court, the Army had itself informed that “it was just for administrative and operational requirements and had no role in the selection process.”

‘Certain regiments of the Army are organised on lines of classification because cultural, social and linguistic homogeneity has been observed to be a force multiplier as a battle winning factor,’ the affidavit said, adding, ‘The commonality of language and culture only further augments the smooth execution of operation.’

Union Min Anurag Thakur also hit out at the opposition saying that “the Recruitments are done as per Army Rules 1954 & Defence Service Regulation 1987.”

Recruitments are done as per Army Rules 1954 & Defence Service Regulation 1987. Some parties like AAP try to mislead & lie. They tried to mislead youth without knowing truth: Union Min Anurag Thakur on Oppn's allegations that caste & religion certificates being asked for Agnipath pic.twitter.com/F8eJoPOqd0
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2022

It has become a tendency of the opposition to misinform the people against anything brought or introduced by the BJP government. But, given their political acumen, they always fail to target the government on any strong issue, which has truth and is relevant. They have done it again by resorting to rumour-mongering and like the previous instances; they have fallen flat on their face.