New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “rattled” by Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ campaign and dismissed his speech at Delhi University’s Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) as a “PR exercise” ahead of the September 18 DUSU polls.
Congress Working Committee member and NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, addressing a press conference, said students had expected the Prime Minister to speak on education and youth issues. Instead, Kumar claimed, Modi used the centenary of the 100-year-old institute for political messaging, as reported by The New Indian Express.
“People were selectively invited and students were not even allowed to attend the programme,” Kumar alleged, suggesting the event was tightly curated to prevent dissent.
From ‘Policy Paralysis’ To ‘Policy Dynamism’
In his address at the SRCC centenary, Modi said the country had moved from “policy paralysis” in 2013 to “policy dynamism” today, adding that those responsible for pushing India into the “Fragile Five” were now “unable to digest” its 7.8% growth.
Kumar countered that 25 government schools are shutting down in the country every day and two young people commit suicide every hour, while unemployment is at its highest in the country. But the prime minister only held a “PR exercise”.
Recalling Modi’s 2013 SRCC speech as Gujarat chief minister — where he said that if half the glass is filled with water, then the other half is filled with air — Kumar said: “But now I understand that the other half is filled with PR.”
‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ & Student Issues
Kumar alleged that Modi was “rattled” by Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ programme, which seeks to raise issues of examination paper leaks and government recruitment, and Saturday’s event was the PM’s attempt to reach out to young people.
He said the Congress is committed to standing with the youth and students and that ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ would be held across 800 locations in the country to highlight their issues.
Kumar went on to say, “PM Modi only talked about 2013 and 2047. He didn’t address any issues related to students or the people of the country.”
He held the Modi government’s “incompetence” responsible for its inability to hold even one examination smoothly, leading to a string of paper leaks and test cancellations.
“Delhi University students had thought that the PM was coming to talk about the education system, but he did not say anything about it. He did not even mention the beating of students at Jantar Mantar,” Kumar said.
“The PM also did not talk about why pellet guns were fired at students right here in Delhi while they were merely demanding a robust examination system,” he added.
The Congress leader also pointed out that the Prime Minister made no reference to the alleged “theft” in Ram temple donations or the difficulties people are facing because of ethanol-petrol blending.
Kumar alleged that Modi was exploiting the SRCC platform as an election campaign tool ahead of the September 18 Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls.
“The prime minister blatantly lied by claiming that inflation is under control,” he said, noting that petrol is being sold at more than Rs 100 a litre, sugar at over Rs 70 a kg and milk at almost Rs 100 a litre.
“Yet, the prime minister insists that inflation is under control,” Kumar said.