New Delhi: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, on Tuesday refuted claims made by the Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition that candidates for the Agnipath defence recruitment were required to submit caste and religious certificates. He asserted that all recruitments were conducted in accordance with the Army Rules of 1954 and the Defence Service Regulation of 1987. The minister also urged the AAP to avoid spreading false information.

"The recruitment procedure is still ongoing and is governed by Army Rule 1954 and Defence Services Regulations 1987. However, some political groups, such as the AAP, disseminate misinformation and create new levels of deception among the general populace. They disseminated misinformation and mislead the youth without understanding the truth "said the minister.  He further emphasised that the opposition had questioned the surgical strike by the centre and claimed that the opposition's propaganda had been disproven.

"These are the same people who questioned the surgical strike; nothing has changed, and they are still requesting the same information. The Opposition's propaganda, especially the AAP's web of lies, is exposed by the thousands of young candidates who have applied to be Agniveers. Lies are used in AAP's political campaigns" he added.

Thakur emphasised that the opposition either lacked comprehensive information about the hiring process or put politics ahead of national security.

"Indian youth is always ready to join the defence forces and sacrifice for the motherland. Now also lakhs of applications have been received which indicates that the youth is ready to become Agniveers. However, political parties are igniting lies and resorting to politics on the basis of caste, perhaps lack information on the issue or they consider politics above national security," he said.

Several opposition parties criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Tuesday as the recruitment for the Agnipath initiative got underway in different states of the nation for having caste and religion sections under the paperwork needed to hire Agniveers.

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