Agnipath Scheme: ’Some have made it a sensitive issue,’ PM Modi attacks opposition on Kargil Vijay Diwas

Kargil Vijay Diwas: Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the opposition on Friday, July 26, for allegedly misleading youth regarding the Agniveer Scheme, a recruitment initiative for the Armed Forces.

Modi said that the Agnipath scheme aims to maintain the Indian army's combat readiness and fitness. However, he said, some individuals are spreading lies about the “sensitive” issue.

“The goal of Agnipath is to make the army young. The goal of Agnipath is to keep the army continuously fit for war. Unfortunately, some people have made such a sensitive national security issue a politics subject," Modi said.

According to the Prime Minister, some leaders “are doing politics of lies for their personal benefit" at the cost of “army reform.” Taking a dig at the opposition, Modi said the same people behind “these lies have weakened the army” by “committing scams worth thousands of crores in the army.”

Kargil Vijay Diwas 2024; Operation Vijay

Meanwhile, India observes July 26 as Kargil Vijay Diwas every year to commemorate the country’s victory over its arch-enemy Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War.

On this day in 1999, the Indian Army announced the successful culmination of Operation Vijay. What had been a three-month battle in Ladakh came to an end.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kargil War Memorial today to pay tributes to the fallen bravehearts of the Indian armed forces. 

Speaking at the Kargil War memorial in Drass, Ladakh, Modi said Pakistan has not learnt any lessons.

“Pakistan faced defeat whenever it has carried out any misadventure. It has not learned any lessons from history."He further noted that Pakistan was trying to keep itself relevant through the means of terrorism and proxy war.

The year 2024 marks Kargil Vijay Diwas's 25th year of India's war with Pakistan, which claimed the lives of several army personnel, including Major Vikram Batra.

Initially, the Pakistani army had denied all allegations about its involvement in the Kargil war. It blamed the Kashmiri militants instead. The documents left behind by casualties and testimony of POWs, however, contradicted the claims.