Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi will take part in a padayatra in Uttarakhand where the party will highlight how the future of the youth has been “jeopardised” by the Agnipath scheme, party leaders from the State announced on Thursday.
Uttarakhand is among the northern States where a substantial number of young people seek employment in the armed forces, and this is why the Congress wants to make the Agnipath recruitment scheme a poll issue ahead of the General Election next year.
The announcement followed a nearly four-hour-long meeting to review electoral preparedness of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee. The meeting, presided by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, was attended by Mr. Gandhi, general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venguopal and senior leaders from the State.
“Uttarakhand is home to the Kumaon and the Garhwal regiment. It’s a dream of every youngster to to join the Army but that has suffered a setback because of the Agniveer scheme. We will be taking out a long padayatra and Rahul Gandhi ji will participate in it for about 10 days,” Uttarakhand Congress chief Karan Mahara told reporters after the meeting.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Gandhi said, “The Congress party will speak against the injustice done to the youth of Uttarakhand by the Agnipath scheme, highlight crime against women, and establish a dialogue with the public.” Last year, Ankita Bhandari, a young receptionist who was working at a resort owned by a BJP leader’s son, had been murdered in the State.
Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, AICC in-charge for the State Devender Yadav, Congress Legislative Party leader Yashpal Arya and all the AICC secretaries for the hill State participated in the meeting.
In a tweet, Mr. Kharge said, “Devbhoomi Uttarakhand State is facing new challenges today. Our leaders and workers in the State are playing the role of a strong Opposition, exposing the anti-people policies of the BJP government. Our endeavour is that all people live together in Uttarakhand, and take the State towards progress. The Congress is continuously raising the voice of the weaker section of society.”
He said the party’s present focus is to help the public in the crisis due to floods and landslides in Uttarakhand and to get help from the government system. “We are in favour of formulating a concrete policy on Himalayan States on climate change and its side effects, and believe that any development work should be done only with the consent of the local people,” Mr. Kharge said.
