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Agnipath Protests Live: Over 600 Trains Cancelled; Congress Leaders Meet Kovind

The defence ministry on Sunday warned that those taking part in the protests will not be inducted in the army.

Updated
India
9 min read
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Agnipath Scheme Protests Bharat Bandh Live Updates: As protests against the Union government's new Agnipath scheme entered their sixth day, Congress leaders on Monday, 20 June, met President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to discuss the row and raised the mistreatment of MPs by the police during the demonstrations.

Earlier on Monday, the Indian Army notified that the recruitment under the much-contended Agnipath scheme will begin on 22 July.

At least 600 trains were cancelled, and massive traffic jams were reported from the Delhi-Gurugram and Delhi-Noida borders as police checked passing vehicles.

The Indian Youth Congress workers also stopped a train by blocking a railway track at Delhi's Shivaji Bridge railway station, near Connaught Place.

Snapshot
  • Senior Congress leaders including Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar on Monday morning

  • After protracted protests over the new army recruitment policy, the government has announced some concessions in the scheme

  • The Defence Ministry on Sunday warned that those taking part in the protests against the scheme will not be inducted in the army

  • As many as 35 WhatsApp groups were banned by the Centre on Sunday for allegedly spreading fake news about Agnipath

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9:15 PM , 20 Jun

612 Trains Affected in Light of Protests

Over 600 trains were cancelled on Monday with operations again disrupted by protests against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.

Of the 612 trains affected, 602 trains were cancelled, including 223 mail and express trains and 379 passengers trains, the Railways said in a statement.

Four mail and express trains and six passenger trains were partially cancelled.

The worst-affected zone was the East Central Railway, which is headquartered at Hajipur and comprises Sonpur, Samastipur, Danapur, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, and Dhanbad divisions. In this zone, around 350 trains remain cancelled, including those that pass through it.

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8:41 PM , 20 Jun

16 Arrested After Youth Cong Workers Stop Train at Shivaji Bridge Railway Station

Youth Congress Workers stopped the Nanded Express at Shivaji Bridge Railway station on Monday morning in protest against the Agniveer Scheme and the ED's interrogation of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, said Harendra K Singh, DCP, Railways.

ACP Railways and SHO New Delhi Railway Station reached the spot, and in coordination with RPF, the demonstrators were removed from the track. The train resumed thereafter.

A total of 15 men and one woman was arrested and case has been registered by the RPF under Section 174A (Obstructing Running of Train) and Section 147 (Trespass) Railways Act at New Delhi Railway Station.

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7:02 PM , 20 Jun

Agnipath Will Compromise India's Security: AAP

The Agnipath scheme will not only make the future of recruits uncertain but also "compromise" with India's security, the AAP claimed on Monday and exhorted the protesters to shun violence and prepare a plan to sustain the "movement" against the new military recruitment plan.

The party's Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sanjay Singh asserted that the Narendra Modi government will have to eventually withdraw the scheme if the protest against it continues in a democratic manner sans violence.

"I want to tell the youth that you prepare a plan to sustain your movement for a longer period so that pressure is built on the (Union) government. This movement will not continue for long through violence," he said.

6:58 PM , 20 Jun

Bharat Bandh Had No Impact in UP: Police

The ‘Bharat Bandh' call against the ‘Agnipath' scheme of the central government has had no impact in Uttar Pradesh and the situation in the state is fully under control, a senior police officer said, reported PTI.

Thirty-nine cases were lodged and 475 people were arrested, of whom 330 were arrested under “serious” sections for protesting against the scheme, as per the officer.

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Published: 20 Jun 2022, 8:06 AM IST
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