Agnipath will finish the army: Priyanka Gandhi

New Delhi, Jun 19: Coming down heavily on the 'Agnipath' scheme, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said that the scheme will 'kill the youth' of the country and will 'finish the Army'.

At 'Satyagraha' protest at Jantar Mantar in support of agitating youths against the scheme, Gandhi accused the government of working for big industrialists and not for the poor.

She appealed to the youths not to resort to violence against the 'Agnipath' scheme. Addressing the mediapersons at Satyagrah, she said, "Government is not working for poor and youth but for big industrialists." "Recognise fake nationalists, the entire country is with you in your struggle," she added.

Gandhi claimed, "This scheme will kill the youth of the country, will finish Army... Please see the intent of this govt and topple it. Bring a govt that is true to the nation, and protects the country's assets. I urge you to do peaceful protest but don't stop,"

The protest had the participation of all MPs, CWC members, and AICC office-bearers.

Meanwhile, a top military officer said that the recruitment of soldiers will increase to over one lakh in the future under the 'Agnipath' scheme. He said that the Centre will start with the recruitment of 46,000 Army aspirants to 'analyse' the scheme.

"In next 4-5 years, our intake (of soldiers) will be 50,000-60,000 & will increase to 90,000 - 1 lakh subsequently. We've started small at 46,000 to analyse the scheme...and to build up infra capacity," said Additional Secretary Lt Gen Anil Puri, Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in a media briefing here today.