Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the “system” had captured the country, adding that did “not want students who ask questions.”
At the latest ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ event in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, Gandhi flagged the vacancy in teachers' posts in the country, while stating that students are the future of India. He further held an interaction with the students, wherein some of them also raised the issue of a 13 per cent quota in recruitment exams in Madhya Pradesh.
Responding to Gandhi's speech, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav called him “a careless politician”, claiming he had visited the state “without adequate preparation.”
‘System feels threatened by students’: Rahul
While addressing the youth, Gandhi said, “The system feels threatened by students. Why? Because students ask questions.” He mentioned Union home minister Amit Shah during the speech.
{{/usCountry}}While addressing the youth, Gandhi said, “The system feels threatened by students. Why? Because students ask questions.” He mentioned Union home minister Amit Shah during the speech.
{{/usCountry}}“A student asks how Amit Shah’s son became the Chairman of the Cricket Association. A student asks how two individuals managed to capture the entire business landscape of India,” he said. Gandhi said students also question why “the judiciary and other institutions fail to do their jobs or why the Election Commission isn't performing its duties.”
“That is why the system does not want students; it wants 'andhbhakts'. An ‘andhbhakt’ is the antithesis of a student,” the Congress MP said. “While a student asks questions and remains curious, an ‘andhbhakt’ lives in a delusional world of their own,” Gandhi added.
‘Should have had factual information’: MP CM
Madhya Pradesh CM Yadav said Gandhi “should have had factual information” on the issue raised at the event. “The way he came to Madhya Pradesh without adequate preparation and conducted his programmes once again proved that he is a careless politician, which is consistent with his character,” Yadav said.
Yadav claimed that the questions raised by Gandhi “are issues for which his own governments were responsible”, saying that the UPA government was in power during 2012-2013.
“In the political history of the Congress, its governments have ruled the country and the states for four to five generations. He should have answers to each of these questions,” Yadav said. The MP CM questioned the state of medical colleges in Madhya Pradesh during the Congress government.
“For example, if he talks about the education system, what was the condition of medical colleges in the state according to the Medical Council of India (MCI)?... Congress did not build a single airport in Madhya Pradesh,” he said, adding that the Janata Party had “contributed” to the opening of an airport in Khajuraho in 1977-1978.
‘Only students can wipe out violence, hatred from country’: Rahul Gandhi on youth's characteristics
Tracing the characteristics of students, Gandhi said it was “first and foremost” important to understand the “future of India.”
“No country can become strong without its students. Students have different characteristics,” he said, adding that the most important characteristic in them is “curiosity.” “Students naturally ask questions, they are curious, and they ask questions about different subjects,” Gandhi said.
He further added that students' second attribute is “mohabbat (love)”. “The third attribute is humility. They try to understand different ideologies and different perspectives. They do not fight, threaten or intimidate others,” the Lok Sabha LoP said. He added that the last “and important quality is that students are honest.”
Gandhi, during the event in Indore, said only students can wipe out violence and hatred from the country, PTI reported. The Congress leader claimed one lakh schools had been closed across country, including 55 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Gandhi also interacted with the youth, with a tribal woman student urging him to raise the issue of shortage of Adivasi hostels in Indore. The Lok Sabha LoP further offered to participate in the ongoing protest of aspirants for a teachers' job in Madhya Pradesh.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)