The Defence Ministry did not take back the Agnipath Scheme

The Defence Ministry spokesperson has called out the viral video as fake.

A viral video on social media claims that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has decided to withdraw the Agnipath scheme and said that from now on, the army recruitment will take place through regular procedure. The video shows a news channel broadcast. 

The viral video states that “Today’s meeting is over, big decision taken on Agnipath scheme. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that Army recruitment will be same as before. Agnipath scheme has been cancelled in India. Youth can stop protesting now.”

Instagram Post | Archive Link 

Fact Check-

We searched for relevant news related to the viral video on Google; however, we could not find any credible news report related to the viral claim.

We found that the video mentions Rajnath Singh as the Home Minister of India. Rajnath Singh is the Defence Minister of India while Amit Shah is the Home Minister of India. This raises questions about the veracity of the viral claim.

Fact Crescendo spoke to Bhushan A. Babu who is the Principal Spokesperson, Ministry of Defence, who told us that the viral video is fake and the Government of India or the Defence Ministry has taken no such decision.

Further, we got the clarification from PIB’s fact check, which states that the viral claim is false and the central government has made no such announcement.

The post reads, “In a video it is being claimed that it has been announced by Union Minister Rajnath Singh that there will be no more recruitment under #AgnipathScheme. This claim is fake. The Central Government has made no such announcement. Do not share such misleading videos/messages.”

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be False. The Defence Ministry spokesperson and the Fact Check Wing of the Government of India have called out the viral video as fake. Union Minister Rajnath Singh has not made this announcement. No decision has been taken to withdraw the Agnipath scheme.