MAHENDRAGARH (Haryana): Union Home Minister Amit Shah, during a rally in Nangal Chaudhry Assembly on Sunday, took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of being a “factory of lies” regarding the Agnipath scheme.
Shah urged the people not to trust Gandhi, claiming that he misrepresented the scheme aimed at keeping the army young. Addressing a rally in Haryana’s Mahendragarh, Shah said, “Rahul Baba is saying that the youth of Haryana will become unemployed due to Agniveer. Bharosa mat karna, ye jhut bolne ki factory hai (Don’t trust him; he’s a factory of lies). He doesn’t even understand the Agniveer scheme. ‘Agniveer is a programme to keep our army young.”
Notably, Rahul Gandhi had during the 2024 Lok Sabha election opposed the Agniveer scheme and said that Congress would scrap the Agnipath scheme in case the INDIA bloc is voted to power. The Congress leader had also demanded compensation for 1.5 lakh youths who completed the Army recruitment process. In response, Shah assured that Agniveers would be provided with pensionable jobs by both the Haryana and Central governments.
“I promise you today that any Agniveer who invests Rs 25-30 lakh in FD (fixed deposit) and returns will be given a pensionable job by the Haryana and Central governments,” Shah stated.
Targeting Congress over its stance on the One Rank, One Pension scheme, Shah questioned, “Who are you inciting? Your government was in power for 40 years, but you did not implement One Rank, One Pension.”
Shah also accused Congress of running a corrupt regime in Haryana, claiming that during its rule, the state was dominated by “dealers, brokers, and sons-in-law.” “This Congress government is one of Dalal (brokers), dealers and damaad (sons-in-law). The Congress party has worked to give the farmers’ land in Haryana at throwaway prices to their sons-in-law, and today they talk about farmers,” he said.
Shah further criticized the previous Congress government in Haryana, saying, “On one hand, 10 years of Congress rule meant 10 years of family and son-in-law welfare, loot, and the humiliation of Dalits and backward classes. On the other hand, 10 years of BJP rule have been 10 years of youth development, good governance, and progress for 36 communities.”
Haryana will go to the polls on October 5 to elect its 90-member state legislative assembly, with counting set to take place on October 8. In the 2019 elections, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party, securing 40 seats, while Congress won 30 seats. (ANI)