Mangaluru: The Agnipath scheme introduced by the Union government would aggravate unemployment in the country and undermine the spirit of aspiring youth who ardently wish to join the armed forces, senior Congress leader and former minister B Ramanath Rai said Monday.

Addressing reporters here, Rai contested the Central government’s claim that the scheme is to help the unemployed. With the scheme, the Centre is doing injustice to the youth who have already been selected and are waiting for their medical certificates.

He said as per previous norms, five years’ service in government entitles an employee to receive gratuity and other benefits. The Union government has designed the Agnipath scheme for four years deliberately to deny the benefits to the youth, Rai alleged.

He said the promise made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create two crore jobs annually in the country has not been fulfilled yet. The BJP is only interested in creating chaos and confusion without addressing real issues, he alleged.

He said the Congress would launch a campaign against the scheme at the constituency-level all over the country. DCC president Harish Kumar, former MLC Naveen D’Souza and other Congress leaders were present.