Amid Agnipath row, AICC asks Chhattisgarh MLAs to join party protest in Delhi

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has called all party MLAs of Chhattisgarh to national capital Delhi to join the ongoing protests against ED summons issued to Rahul Gandhi and the Centre’s Agnipath scheme for recruitment to the defence services.

A senior leader of Congress in Chhattisgarh said that the MLAs will reach Delhi by Tuesday evening.

“About a dozen MLAs including chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, state president Mohan Markam, Minister Shivkumar Dhariya and others are in Delhi. On Monday night, there was a call from Delhi that everyone should by Tuesday join the ongoing protests,” said a senior leader of Chhattisgarh Congress.

The Congress has 71 seats in the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly.

A Congress legislator who will be in Delhi by Tuesday evening claimed that most of the MLAs will be staying at Chhattisgarh House and for some private accommodation has been arranged.

“The MLAs are reaching and will be here to join the ongoing protests. We will protest until our demands are met,” said Vikas Upadhyay, a Congress legislator who has been camping in Delhi since Saturday.

On Monday, a delegation from the Congress party met President Ram Nath Kovind and demanded his intervention for the withdrawal of the new Agnipath scheme for recruiting soldiers, and also told him about the treatment meted out to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate, and pointed out the alleged excesses of Delhi police on its MPs during the protests.

A seven-member delegation comprising Congress’ Lok Sabha floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel, and Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal also met the president.

The Congress in its memorandum to the president said, given the situation at the country’s borders, it is imperative that we have soldiers in our armed forces who are young, well-trained, motivated, happy, satisfied and assured of their future.

“The Agnipath scheme does not advance any of these objectives. Through you, we urge the government to withdraw the scheme, hold wider consultations in Parliament, Parliamentary Committees and outside with all stakeholders and address the issues of quality, efficiency and economy without compromising on the welfare of our armed forces,” it said.

Congress leaders also wrote to the president to register its strong protest against the “vicious and unprovoked attack unleashed on Congress MPs by Delhi Police”, which comes under the direct purview of the Union home ministry.