Chandigarh: In a swift move to avoid confrontation with the Centre on the ‘Agnipath’ army recruitment scheme, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today directed all the district authorities to extend full support to the army to conduct recruitment rallies in the state.

The Army had termed the conduct of the local authorities as “vacillating” for organising the rallies. No arrangements were being made for drinking water, toilets, first aid, food, or security for those participating in the recruitment rallies.

“Any laxity shall be viewed seriously. Every effort should be made to recruit a maximum number of candidates into the army from Punjab,” Mann ordered.

Mann has reacted after Major General Sharad Bikram Singh, the Army’s zonal recruitment officer in Jalandhar on September 8, sent a stinker to Punjab Chief Secretary VK Janjua and Kumar Rahul, Principal Secretary, Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training, terming the conduct of local administration as “vacillating”.

The Punjab officers had been citing their inadequacies due to a lack of direction from the state government and paucity of funds, the army reported.

The Major General in his letter said that unless they received “clear cut commitment” from the government’s side, “we will be taking up the case with Army headquarters to hold in abeyance all future recruitment rallies and procedures in Punjab, alternately conduct rallies in the neighbouring states”.

Earlier, Bhagwant Mann had in fact opposed the launch of the ‘Agnipath’ army recruitment scheme.

The centre unveiled the ‘Agnipath’ scheme in June this year. Under the scheme, soldiers are to be recruited for a period of four years only. After four years, about 25 per cent of the fit soldiers, known as ‘Agniveers’, will be retained in the forces.

The launch of the scheme had sparked widespread protests across the country, with the protesters questioning what options they would have after their four-year tenure in the forces.