Chandigarh, Nov. 5 -- Former Haryana Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday demanded unconditional regularisation of Agniveers, saying granting them a two-year extension of service before imposing conditions for permanent recruitment was an insult to their dignity.
Responding to questions from journalists at his residence, Hooda said the Congress had opposed the Agnipath scheme from the beginning, maintaining that it was neither in the interest of the country nor the Army. He said several former Army officers had also openly opposed the scheme before the government announced additional provisions following widespread criticism.
Questioning the proposed conditions for regularisation, Hooda said anyone who had served in the Army for six years was already prepared to continue serving as a regular soldier. He asked why such personnel could not be recruited permanently under the earlier system. He said every soldier joining the Army should be entitled to a full service tenure, permanent employment, complete salary, allowances, facilities and pension.
On the issue of guest teachers, Hooda demanded their immediate regularisation and accused the BJP government of going back on its promises. He said the policy framed by the previous Congress government for regularising contractual employees had been upheld by both the High Court and the Supreme Court, which had also directed regularisation of guest teachers under the same policy.
Hooda alleged that the BJP had secured votes from thousands of guest teachers' families in 2014 by promising regularisation but forgotten its commitment after coming to power.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.