NDA allies flag Agniveer, UCC, ONOE

New Delhi: The contentious Agnipath scheme is expected to be the first casualty of the new Modi government. The BJP’s allies, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), have expressed strong reservations against this scheme and sought a detailed review, contending that it caused "heavy damage" to the NDA during the Lok Sabha elections. The allies also indicated they would push for a nationwide caste census through the new government at the Centre.

These two NDA partners also called for wider consultations on other controversial issues like the “Uniform Civil Code” and “One Nation, One Poll.” The support of the JD(U) and TD is crucial for forming the new NDA government.

The government launched the Agnipath scheme on June 15, 2022, to recruit both male and female aspirants into 'below the officer's rank' cadre of the three services for four years as Agniveers. Candidates aged between 17.5 and 21 years are eligible to apply for the scheme.

Echoing similar sentiments, LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan said he is also in favour of a review of the Agnipath scheme. “We must revisit how much we could deliver through this scheme.”

Talking to the media here, JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said his party has demanded a review of the Agnipath scheme and will "pursue" the caste census issue, which he asserted was the need of the hour.

"There is anger among voters over the (short-term army recruitment) Agniveer scheme. Our party wants those shortcomings to be removed, on which people have objections," Tyagi told reporters. He also said he is not opposed to the Uniform Civil Code but believes all stakeholders should be consulted.

"On the UCC, the Chief Minister (Nitish Kumar) had written to the Law Commission. We are not against the UCC. But there should be consultation with all the stakeholders, chief ministers, political parties, and different sects, and a consensus should be reached," he said.

On the issue of the caste census, the JD(U) leader further said, "No party in the country has denied a caste census. Bihar has shown the way, and the prime minister also did not oppose it. It is the demand of the time, and we will pursue it."

“We are now eyeing up to three cabinet berths,” a senior JD(U) leader said.

Another top party leader expressed hope for a "respectable" representation in the Union Council of Ministers. “The matter of cabinet berths will be decided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our party chief Nitish Kumar ji. But it should be respectable,” said Shrawan Kumar, JD(U) leader and Bihar Rural Development Minister.

He also said the matter of representation in the Union Cabinet should be decided with the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls in mind. In 2019, a "token representation" of just one berth was turned down by Nitish Kumar.

Sources in JD(U) indicated the party is keen on portfolios such as railways, rural development, agriculture, water resources, and heavy industries but have left it to Modi. Among the frontrunners for ministerial berths in the party are its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Ram Nath Thakur (son of Dalit icon Karpoori Thakur), Kaushalendra Kumar, Ramprit Mandal, Vijaylaxmi Devi, and Lovely Anand. One berth may possibly go to a woman and one from an extremely backward caste.

Regarding its support to the BJP as a member of the NDA, a senior JD(U) leader said, "There is no pre-condition; there is unconditional support. But it is in our mind and heart that Bihar should be given special status. After bifurcation, the situation Bihar has faced cannot be corrected without granting it special status."

Support from allies like the JD(U) is crucial for the BJP, as it could not reach the majority mark on its own in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election. With 12 MPs, the JD(U) is the second biggest BJP ally after the Telugu Desam's 16. Leaders of the saffron party are holding negotiations with other members of the NDA grouping over ministerial berths and other issues.

The BJP bagged 240 seats, 32 short of an absolute majority, while the NDA has a tally of 293 seats in the 18th Lok Sabha.