Himanta Biswa Sarma: Assam will absorb most 'Agniveers' into state police

To support the Agnipath Scheme, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the state government will absorb most Agniveers from Assam into the Assam Police.

In a post on the microblogging site X, Sarma said that Assam is committed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of modernizing the Indian Army. He condemned the Opposition's attempts to undermine the scheme, stating, "Bharat will ensure Opposition’s mission - to weaken the Indian Army by spreading lies on #AgnipathScheme - is defeated."

Sarma reiterated Assam's support for the Agnipath Scheme and highlighted the state's proactive stance in ensuring the welfare of Agniveers, thereby contributing to both state security and national defense modernization.

Earlier, on July 26, during the Kargil Vijay Diwas commemorations, the Congress criticized Prime Minister Modi's remarks about the Agnipath Scheme. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condemned the Prime Minister for what he described as “petty politics” on such a solemn occasion. “It is very unfortunate and deplorable that PM Narendra Modi-ji is doing petty politics even on occasions like paying tribute to martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. No Prime Minister has ever done this before,” Kharge stated.

During his visit to the Kargil War Memorial in Dras, PM Modi defended the Agnipath Scheme and accused the Opposition of politicizing national security. “The Agnipath scheme is also an example of the necessary reforms done by the Army… Unfortunately, some people have made such a sensitive issue related to national security a subject of politics. These are the same people who weakened our Army by committing scams worth thousands of crores,” Modi said.

Kharge countered by accusing the PM of “spreading lies” and pointed out that former Army Chief General MM Naravane had stated that 75% of recruits were to be kept permanently, contrary to the implementation of the scheme which Kharge claimed was done forcibly and did not align with initial plans.