NEW DELHI, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Amid the ongoing protests against the Indian government's new recruitment policy for armed forces, the defense ministry said on Sunday that the scheme would not be rolled back.
"No, why should there be a rollback?" Lt. Gen. Anil Puri, additional secretary in the defense ministry, said at a press briefing when answering a question on whether the government was reviewing or rolling back the scheme because of the protests.
Puri said those applying for the new military recruitment scheme would have to provide proof that they were not part of any violent protest or incident of arson that have broken out across the country.
"There is no space for indiscipline in the armed forces. There is no space for arson and violence. All those who want to become a part of the armed forces under the scheme will have to give a certificate that they were not part of any arson," he said, adding that a police verification process will be carried out before enrolling anyone.
The media briefing at the defense ministry took place hours after Defense Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with the chiefs of the army, navy and the air force for the second day.
The scheme was announced by Singh on Tuesday.
The Agnipath (path of fire) scheme bats for the recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces, largely on a short-term contractual basis. Under the scheme, people between the age of 17.5 years and 21 years will be inducted into the military for a four-year tenure. After four years, only 25 percent of these soldiers will be retained and go on to serve for a full 15 years in non-officer ranks.
Violent protests broke out in various states against the scheme. One person was killed and many others injured during protests in the southern state of Telangana.
Protests initially broke out in the eastern state of Bihar and spread to other states. The irate protesters set trains on fire, targeted police stations and damaged railway property demanding the rollback of the policy.
In a bid to calm down protests, the Indian government has announced a one-time relaxation of the upper age limit from 21 to 23 years.
However, the relaxation failed to contain the protests.
