"Doing petty politics; spreading lies": Kharge on PM Modi criticising opposition parties opposing Agnipath scheme

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, saying that he is the one spreading lies and doing petty politics even on the occasion of the Kargil Vijay Diwas.
This came after PM Modi's address at the 25th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas in Ladakh's Kargil, where he criticised the opposition parties for opposing the 'Agnipath' scheme and for "politicising a sensitive issue related to national security."
Taking to X, Kharge said, "It is very unfortunate and deplorable that Prime Minister 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. Modi ji is saying that his government implemented the Agnipath scheme at the behest of the Army; this is a blatant lie and an unforgivable insult to our valiant Armed Forces."
Kharge also accused the Modi government of doing the opposite of what former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane had said about the recruitment of soldiers and forcibly implementing the scheme in all three armed forces.
"Former Army Chief (Retd.) General MM Naravane has said on record that 75% of recruits were to be taken for permanency in the 'Agnipath Scheme' and 25% of people were to be let go after 4 years. But the Modi Govt did the opposite, and forcibly implemented this scheme for all three Armed Forces," Kharge said.
Kharge further stated that in General MM Naravane's book, it was mentioned that the 'Agnipath Scheme' was shocking for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
"...According to news reports, Former Army Chief (Retd) General MM Naravane in his book which the Modi Govt, has stalled from being published, has also said, that the 'Agnipath Scheme' was shocking for the Army, and for the Navy and Air Force, it came like a "bolt out of the blue"!" Kharge said.
He further mentioned that many retired officers had strongly criticised the Agnipath scheme and said that it was endangering national security.
"Many retired officers have strongly criticised Agnipath and said that it is endangering National Security... Agniveers do not get any pension, no gratuity, no family pension, no liberalized family pension, and no education allowance for their children...15 Agniveers have been martyred so far. At least respect their martyrdom," Kharge added.
Earlier, speaking during Kargil Vijay Diwas Shradhanjali Samaroh in Drass, Ladakh, Prime Minister Modi had said that the opposition was misleading the youth on the Agnipath issue
"The Army means the faith of 140 crore countrymen. The army means - the guarantee of peace for 140 crore countrymen and the army means - the guarantee of security of the country's borders. Unfortunately, such a sensitive issue related to national security has been made a subject of politics by some people. Some people are playing politics of lies on this reform of the army for their personal interests. These are the same people who weakened our armed forces by committing scams worth thousands of crores of rupees in the armed forces. These are the same people who wanted the Air Force to never get modern fighter jets. These are the same people who had made preparations to scrap the Tejas fighter plane. These are the same people who had made preparations to lock the Tejas fighter plane in a box, PM Modi said.