Indian states brace for Bharat Bandh call over Agnipath scheme

After more than 10 Indian states witnessed protests against Modi government's new "Agnipath" military recruitment scheme last week, a nationwide shutdown call - for "Bharat Bandh" - has been given by some groups on Monday.

This comes a day after the service chiefs ruled out rolling back of the plan and revealed the recruitment timelines. A top army officer also gave a warning to demonstrators.

"The Indian Army's foundation lies in discipline. There's no space for arson or vandalism. Every individual will have to give a certificate they were not part of protests or vandalism. Police verification is mandatory, no one can join without it," said Lieutenant General Anil Puri, additional secretary, department of military affairs, on Sunday at a key presser.

The recruits of the new scheme will be called "Agniveers". In the midst of opposition attacks, a team of Congress leaders is set to meet President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.

Here are ten points on the Agniveer recruitment scheme and the Bharat Bandh call:

1. The security personnel in several states - including Uttar Pradesh and Punjab - are alert over the shutdown call. Massive vandalism was reported from several parts of the country last week as trains were torched and demonstrators took to streets over the recruitment plan unveiled by defence minister Rajnath Singh on June 14. More than 1,000 people have been arrested and most of these arrests are from Bihar. 

2. Schools are closed in Jharkhand ahead of the shutdown call. "In the wake of the Bharat Bandh called by certain organizations, all schools in Jharkhand will remain closed tomorrow, June 20. The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure," secretary of the education department, Rajesh Sharma, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

3. Punjab too remains alert after the Ludhiana railway station on Saturday saw demonstrators resorting to violence. Meanwhile, chief minister Bhagwant Mann has been urging the government to roll back the scheme while criticising the plan.

4. In Haryana's Faridabad, which borders Delhi, cops have warned the demonstrators . "Videography will be done in view of the possibility of activities of anti-social elements during the bandh. If the road is jammed or blocked at any place, then in coordination with the concerned supervising officer or station manager, or duty magistrate, the obstacle will be removed by talking to the people involved in the strike. No one will be allowed to take the law in hand," police spokesperson Sube Singh told ANI.