The Indian Army is planning to induct civilians for a three-year tenure into the force

New Delhi: With the Army planning to induct civilians for a three-year tenure, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Mohammad Salim, has criticised the proposal and accused the government of trying to shed its responsibilities at a time when the unemployment rate in the country is very high.

Commenting on the Army’s proposal to induct the young generation into the 1.3 million force to give them an ‘opportunity to experience military life’, the CPI(M) leader said that the idea is brilliant, but the motive is to reduce the pay bill and shed responsibilities.

Coming down hard at the government, the former parliamentarian said when the unemployment rate is very high, the government is planning to do away with long-term commitments. “This is unfortunate. When the government should act more responsibly, it is trying to shed the responsibilities,” he said.

Further slamming the government, he said, “In the guise of patriotism, you get the prime youth of the county into the service, but after 3 years say goodbye. This is wrong.”

“We have National Cadet Corps (NCC), so if we talk about bringing in discipline and exposure to the Army network then its good that you pour in more money into the NCC and motivate students to join.”

The CPI(M) leader also dragged in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) into the issue. "The RSS has already said that he ‘Shakha’ people are ready to go the border and fight so it should not be an encouragement to the ‘Shakha Babus’ for a fashionable role, because most of these people, whose families don’t even join the armed forces, will fight on the twitter in this fake patriotism era.”

The Army sources have termed the proposal a "game-changer", saying that the main aim is to bring the people from civil society people closer to the force by giving them an opportunity to experience military life.

Meanwhile, there has been a mixed response from military and strategic affairs experts on the Army’s proposal.