India had to stop recruitment rally Due to the silence of the Sher Bahadur Deuba government of Nepal, the recruitment rally for Nepalese Gorkhas under the Agneepath scheme, starting on August 25, could not be held. The Gorkha Recruitment Depot Gorakhpur in Butwal, Nepal was scheduled to organize a recruitment rally for Agniveers from August 25 to September 7. For this, the Indian Embassy in Nepal had sought permission by sending a letter to the Foreign Ministry of Nepal. But the Government of Nepal did not respond in time and the recruitment rally could not be held. Minendra Rizal, a senior leader of Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s party Nepali Congress and Defense Minister in the same government, said that it is not so easy for the government to say yes or no.
Nepal’s concern over the Agneepath scheme
He said that this is a coalition government and parliamentary elections are also going to be held in a few months. So it is difficult to say yes or no. Nepal government spokesperson Gyanendra Bahadur Karki was asked whether the Deuba government would remain silent or would it respond to India’s letter regarding Agneepath? On this he said that ask the Defense Secretary. When asked Defense Secretary Kiran Raj Sharma, he said that there is no information yet, let’s talk later. The Deuba government is refraining from speaking openly in this matter. She neither wants to anger her allies and opposition nor does India. In such a situation, the Deuba government probably thought it more appropriate to remain silent. A poster of the Indian Embassy Defense Wing has been put up at Agneepath in the pension camp in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, for the Nepalese Gorkhas in the Indian Army. On June 14 this year, the Indian Army had announced a new scheme named Agneepath for army recruitment. Under this scheme, youth of 17 to 21 years are to be selected as Agniveer and after four years they will be regularized further jobs on the basis of performance.
Only 25% of the total Agniveers will get regular jobs and the rest will have to go back. There were violent protests in many states against this new plan in India. Now Nepal is also not ready to accept this plan. The Gurkhas of Nepal have been recruited in the Indian Army since independence. Nepalese Gurkhas are recruited in the Indian Army under the tripartite treaty signed between India, Nepal and Britain in 1947. In Nepal too, the biggest objection to the Agneepath scheme is that if the youth return after four years in the army, what will they do? The present Sher Bahadur Deuba government of Nepal is running with the support of former Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) and other Left parties.
