‘Agnipath’ scheme: VK Singh accused the Congress of trying to mislead the youth. (File)Nagpur: Hitting out at the Congress over party leader Priyanka Gandhi’s statement against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Union minister and former Army chief General V K Singh (retd) on Sunday alleged that the grand old party is finding fault with even the best work of the Modi government as it is upset with Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a programme in Nagpur, he also accused the Congress of trying to mislead the youth and create unrest in the country.Replying to a question over Priyanka Gandhi’s statement made earlier in the day in Delhi that the ‘Agnipath’ scheme will destroy the youth as well as the army, Mr Singh said, “Congress is upset because Rahul Gandhi is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Hence, the party finds fault with even the best of the best work of the government.””The Opposition, particularly the Congress, is trying to mislead the youngsters. The only work that the Opposition is left with is to criticise and stop any government schemes. They want to create unrest in the country to defame the government,” he added.The ‘Agnipath’ scheme, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of youths in the age bracket of 17-and-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 years for recruitment in 2022.However, massive protests have erupted in parts of India, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, with youths taking to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the scheme.Speaking at the Congress’s ‘Satyagraha’ held on Sunday at Jantar Mantar in the national capital in support of those protesting against the ‘Agnipath’ scheme, Priyanka Gandhi said, “…such a scheme will destroy the youth. This scheme will destroy the Army. Recognise this government’s intentions.”The ED had questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for three consecutive days last week in connection with the National Herald money-laundering case. He is set to appear before the agency on Monday.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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