Haryana polls: BJP govt intends to snatch away pensions from Agniveers, LoP Rahul Gandhi claims during yatra

Pic/PTI

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the Central Government over the Agnipath scheme in Haryana and said that Agniveers "should not be in misconception" as the government "intends" to "snatch away their pensions", reported news agency ANI.

"A Jawan will be entitled to pension for his entire life. But those with the Agniveer tag will not get pension, which means money has been snatched from them and gone to (entrepreneur Gautam) Adani's pocket. The Agniveer scheme has been rolled out to help Adani. The Agniveer scheme's truth is that (Prime Minister) Narendra Modiji wants to snatch pensions," the Congress Member of Parliament (MP), who led the party's 'Vijay Sankalp Yatra' said.

During the yatra in Ambala ahead of the Haryana polls, he further stated that whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing is just for the rich people.

"PM Modi himself said that he is non-biological and has a direct connection with God. He says that whatever God asks him to do, he does it. We don't understand how God asks him to help Adani only. Whatever Modi ji is doing is only for the rich people," Gandhi added.

He also guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) for Haryana's farmers and Rs 2,000 for the women in the state under the Mahila Shakti Yojana if the Congress comes to power.

"When Congress comes to power in Haryana, the first thing we will do is give minimum support price to the farmers. We will also give Rs 2,000 to every poor woman. We will work towards giving jobs to two lakh youths in Haryana Government and these jobs will be given to people from every caste and section of society equally. We will also do a Caste Census in the state," Gandhi said.

The LoP said that the fight is between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Haryana polls.

"In this elections, the fight is between Congress and BJP. Vote for the Congress party and make us win the elections," he added.

The Haryana polls will be held on October 5, while the counting of the seats for the 90-member state legislative assembly is set to take place three days later.

In the 2019 elections, BJP emerged as the single-largest party, securing 40 seats, while Congress won 30.

(With ANI inputs)