New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said his party stands firmly with Central Armed Police Forces personnel and will put an end to the discrimination they face under the recently notified CAPF law.
In a post on Facebook, Gandhi said that even though soldiers of the paramilitary forces put everything at stake to defend the nation, they still don’t have the right to lead their own force.
He said once the Congress government comes to power, it will ensure every soldier gets their dues and dignity and that the injustice done to the forces is rectified.
“Our soldiers stake everything to defend the nation. Yet, in return for their service and dedication, CAPF personnel receive neither timely promotions nor the right to lead their own force.
“The Congress party and I stand firmly with the CAPF personnel and their families. We will put an end to this discrimination, rectify this institutional injustice, and ensure that every soldier receives their rightful dues and dignity,” he said in a post in Hindi.
In the video attached to his post, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said this is the biggest issue for CAPFs.
“I don’t understand how you can protect an organisation’s morale that cannot put its own person in the position of leadership. I think this is ridiculous. These boys are being asked to fight terrorism; they are being asked to fight the Naxals. They are being asked to die, they are being injured, and then we are telling them that we refuse to allow you to run your organisation,” he said.
“This is why I am very strongly saying that what the government has done is unfair. But I assure the BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF and all the paramilitary forces that I and the Congress party are with you and you should get justice. When our government comes to power, we will provide justice to you, 100 per cent,” Gandhi said.
The Parliament had recently passed the Central Armed Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026. The government on Thursday notified the law after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent.
The law creates a unified legal framework governing personnel across different CAPFs, replacing the current patchwork of separate service-rule regimes for the five central forces.
The new Act provides that 50 per cent of the posts will be filled through deputation from the Indian Police Service (IPS) in the rank of an inspector general and a minimum of 67 per cent of the posts through deputation in the rank of an additional director general.
The posts in the ranks of special director general and director general shall be filled through deputation only, it says.
The opposition had alleged in parliament that the “discriminatory” legislation had been brought in to undermine a Supreme Court ruling.
The apex court had, in October last year, dismissed the Centre’s plea seeking a review of its 2025 verdict that directed that IPS officers’ deputation in the CAPFs up to the level of Senior Administrative Grade should be “progressively reduced” and asked for a cadre review to be carried out in six months.
The government, however, asserted that the law was a much-needed reform and brought clarity on the issue of appointments. PTI SKC RT
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