"Students Being Used For Political Gains": Union Minister On 'Agnipath' Protests
NDTV
Ashwini Kumar Choubey claimed some people are using students for their political gains, an apparent reference to the parties that have criticised the Agnipath scheme.
Union minister and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Thursday urged students protesting against the Agnipath scheme to stop their agitation and keep away from those inciting them, as he asserted that the initiative is in the interests of them, armed forces and the country.
Mr Choubey, a senior party leader from Bihar where protests started first on Wednesday, also claimed that some people are using students for their own political gains, an apparent reference to opposition parties which have criticised the scheme for short-term contractual employment in the armed forces as soldiers.
In a statement, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi always thinks and works for the welfare of the youth and the nation.
"We assure you that this programme is a constructive step to bring in long-term positive results. Lakhs of youngsters will not only benefit from this but nationalistic sentiments within them will also be strengthened," Mr Choubey said.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, is en route to a thumping win in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, thanks to its two smaller allies.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader said the results are not acceptable to his party and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
The Adani Group said that none of its 11 public companies are implicated or accused of any wrongdoing.
The MVA had only been given a (very) slim chance of upsetting the in-power BJP-led alliance's applecart in this election; only one of 11 exit polls studied by NDTV believed it can win.
The first phase saw voting in 43 constituencies, while the second phase saw 38 seats up for grabs. Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), leading the ruling INDIA alliance, faces a fierce challenge from the BJP-led NDA.
Assembly Election Results 2024: Maharashtra's 288 voted Wednesday in a single phase, and an average of 11 exit polls gives the ruling Mahayuti 155 seats.
Bypoll Assembly Election Results 2024 Live: Bypolls were held on 48 assembly seats in 14 states including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and West Bengal.
During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honoured (in absentia) with the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Global Peace Award for Minority Upliftment.
The DMK MPs held a meeting today to discuss what they called the BJP-led Centre's betrayal of the state and its people
Meanwhile, Kamlochan Kashyap, DIG South Bastar said a joint operation has been planned after getting information about the movement of a group of Maoists in the area.
It happened around 11 am when a youth from Sevdha village came on a motorcycle to the Indian Oil petrol pump in Dulhapur village and asked for a refill worth Rs 100, Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said.