Students are not asking for charity: Rahul Gandhi writes to Fadnavis over plight of tribal hostel students

The Congress leader’s letter came after participants highlighted their plight during the Saturday interaction, where six tribal students continued their hunger strike for an 11th day on Monday at the Adivasi Government Boys Hostel near the Hadapsar-Manjari border

MUMBAI: Two days after his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Pune, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking his immediate intervention to address humiliating rules, unsafe facilities, and inhumane conditions in government-run hostels for tribal students.

Pune: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during the 'Chhatron ki Goonj' event, in Pune, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shashank Parade)(PTI08_22_2026_000688B) (PTI)

The Congress leader’s letter came after participants highlighted their plight during the Saturday interaction, where six tribal students continued their hunger strike for an 11th day on Monday at the Adivasi Government Boys Hostel near the Hadapsar-Manjari border.

Sharing the letter on social media, Gandhi noted that students are forced to fast because rules strip them of their dignity and obstruct access to education. He pointed out that many Adivasi students from remote villages rely on these city hostels, but a new policy capping the age limit at 30 excludes those still completing studies or preparing for exams.

Gandhi alleged that the hostels lack adequate food, sanitation, and medical care, resulting in student injuries and even deaths from snake bites. Conditions for female students, he added, are even worse.

“I was shocked to learn that female students returning after an extended absence must undergo pregnancy tests and a range of other medical tests to prove their ‘fitness’,” Gandhi wrote, calling the practice a humiliation that presumes them guilty and attacks their humanity. He urged the Chief Minister to personally meet the protesting students, hear their grievances, and resolve the issues immediately.

The six students on hunger strike are Shweta Girnak, 26; Nikita Mechkar, 22; Sharad Thokal, 26; Vijay Bhandble, 25; Rahul Dhanwe, 26; and Rajaram Padvi, 20.

Meanwhile, CM Fadnavis on Monday accused the Congress of deliberately blocking the implementation of women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha by 2029. Responding to senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on X, Fadnavis said Chidambaram was aware that the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023, links seat reservation to a post-Census delimitation exercise.

With the Census delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Fadnavis argued that waiting for the fresh Census would delay implementation beyond 2029, alleging that Rahul Gandhi and the Congress opposed efforts to fast-track it.

Chidambaram countered on social media, calling the allegations factually incorrect and reminding Fadnavis that the Congress overwhelmingly voted for the 33% reservation bill in both houses of Parliament in 2023. Taking a dig back, Fadnavis remarked that he wished to acquire the “art of having selective memory.”