New Delhi: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Railways have faced a loss of Rs 259.44 Crores during the nation-wide agitation against new Army Recruitment Scheme — Agnipath Yojana.
“Indian Railways suffered a loss of Rs 259.44 crores due to damage and destruction of its assets in agitations against the Agnipath Scheme,” said the Union Minister.
The ‘Agnipath Yojana’ was severely criticised by the Opposition and several military veterans including Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Bala Singh.
The nation had seen shocking images of dense flames coming out of burning trains, and other vehicles on roads. As a country-wide protests, several Army job aspirants thronged to the streets demanding the government to roll back its 4-year Army Recruitment Policy.
The aspirants then, started damaging the railway properties including the train bogies in the protest. There were several viral videos on the internet where the miscreants were seen instigating fire in the train that attracted police attention resulting in legal action against them.
The agitation among the youth started with the announcement of short-term Army recruitment policy called ‘Agnipath’.