Nagpur:

Striking in Congress at party leader Priyanka Gandhi’s statement against the “Agnipath” program, Union minister and former army chief General VK Singh (retired) on Sunday alleged that the big old party finds to fault even the best work of the Modi government as it is upset with the interrogation of Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a program in Nagpur, he also accused the Congress of trying to mislead the youths and create unrest in the country.

Responding to a question about Priyanka Gandhi’s statement earlier today in Delhi that the ‘Agnipath’ program will destroy the youth as well as the military, Mr Singh said: “Congress is upset because Rahul Gandhi is questioned by the Law Enforcement Directorate (ED). Therefore, the party criticizes even the best of the best government work.”

“The opposition, especially the Congress, is trying to mislead the young people. The only job left for the opposition is to criticize and stop any scheme of the government. They want to create turmoil in the country to defame government,” he added.

The “Agnipath” system, announced on June 14, provides for the recruitment of young people aged 17 and a half to 21 for only four years with a retention clause of 25% of them for an additional 15 years. Later, the government extended the upper age limit to 23 for recruitment in 2022.

However, massive protests erupted in parts of India, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, as young people took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction with the scheme.

Speaking at the Congress ‘Satyagraha’ held at Jantar Mantar in the nation’s capital on Sunday to support those protesting against the ‘Agnipath’ programme, Priyanka Gandhi said: “… such a program will destroy the youth This program will destroy the Recognize the intentions of this government.

The ED had questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for three consecutive days last week in connection with the National Herald money laundering case. He is due to appear before the agency on Monday.

(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)