'No place for arsonists in the armed forces': senior Army officer behind 'Agnipath' scheme

A senior military officer has strongly criticised the arson and violence taking place during protest against the new defence forces recruitment policy and said that arsonists have no place in the armed forces.

In an interview to NDTV, Lieutenant General Anil Puri, who is the Additional Secretary in the Department of Military Affairs and one of the people behind the 'Agnipath' recruitment plan, said that the forces don't stand for arson and there is not an iota of indiscipline in the military.

He also told the news channel that the protests could be a result of anger among a group of defence aspirants who have been preparing to join the armed forces for the past 2 years but he doesn't think the agitation is against the 'Agnipath' programme on the whole.

There has been widespread violence in many states of the country against the govt's new defence recruitment plan that commissions aspirants in the armed forces for a period of 4 years.

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The top concerns have been the employment prospects for those who are not selected for further service at the end of the 4 years and also that initially the govt had set an upper age limit of 21 years for eligibility.

After protests, the govt has raised age cap to 23 years only for the first years.