Agnipath scheme: new row over caste of Agniveers explained

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and his arch rival Lalu Prasad’s RJD, the principal opposition party, on Tuesday ended up on the same page in questioning the Centre on why aspiring ‘Agniveers’ were being asked to furnish religion and caste details.

JD(U) parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha came up with a couple of social media posts addressed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in which he raised “fears of misuse” of such information, in a move that is likely to rankle ally BJP, which is still sore over the stance adopted by the JD(U) since the ‘Agnipath’ scheme was rolled out.

Moreover, Kushwaha’s views were echoed by Tejashwi Yadav, RJD president’s son and party heir apparent, who came out with tweets flaying the “Sangh-backed BJP government at the Centre”.

“‘Jaati na poochho sadhu ki lekin jaati poochho fauji ki’ (a holy man must not be asked about his caste, but it is okay to do so with respect to an Army man), said Yadav in his sarcastic tweet, wherein he also lambasted the BJP for “running away from a caste census”, referring to the Centre’s refusal to conduct the same, which has led the government in Bihar to carry out a headcount on its own resources.

The former Bihar deputy CM also alleged “Agniveers are being asked to disclose their caste so that the RSS, which is the most casteist organisation in the country, could get the candidates screened on the basis of their castes”.

The nuisance value of the allegation was not lost on the BJP, the political offshoot of the RSS, which has been trying hard to do away with the label of being “pro-upper caste” to gain more than a foot in the door of Bihar politics.

“In the armed forces, it is the norm to collect all personal details of candidates. It is nothing new and there is no need for creating any controversy,” state BJP spokesman Arvind Kumar Singh said in a statement.

Nonetheless, Yadav’s contention – “what is the need for seeking caste details when there are no quotas under Agnipath scheme” found a resonance with Kushwaha as well as former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, whose Hindustani Awam Morcha with its four MLAs has come to be seen as the JD(U)’s veritable B team.

“Agniveers are destined to get a lollipop by way of temporary employment in the armed forces. Why are they being asked to disclose their caste when there is no caste-based reservation under the new scheme of recruitment,” asked Manjhi, who has of late been nettling BJP with his plain-speak on issues ranging from social behaviour of Brahmins to historicity, or lack thereof, of Lord Rama.

Kushwaha, who was approached by journalists with queries, said “anything that has no good use can be misused and the same applies to seeking caste and religion details from Agniveers. I would wait till the defence minister comes up with his clarification”.

The JD(U) leader, who has come to be seen as ally BJP’s principal detractor in his party, also warned “if no explanations are forthcoming, then those levelling allegations will do so with a vengeance”.