“Challenge PM To Go To Universities, Meet Students”: Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi:

Congress’s Rahul Gandhi today challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit any university of the country, where the students, he said, were simmering with anger over the failure of the economy and the resulting joblessness. “The voice of the youth is legitimate, it should be heard,” the senior Congress leader said amid widespread student protests across the country.

Addressing the media after a meeting of 20 opposition parties in Delhi, Mr Gandhi said, “Mr Modi should stand up and have the courage to speak to the youngsters in the universities and tell them why the economy’s so bad. He does not have the guts to do it. I challenge him to tell the people what he is going to do with the country.” Instead of addressing the problem of the youth, the Prime Minister, he said, is pursuing a policy of distract and divide. In her address, Congress’s interim chief Sonia Gandhi too, said the real issue underlying the protests was different.

“There have been nation-wide spontaneous protests by the youth supported by citizens from all walks of life. The immediate cause is the CAA and NRC but they reflect widespread frustration and pent up anger,” she said. Instead of addressing it, the government has decided to crack down on protesters, she said.

“The nation has watched in horror at the BJP-orchestrated assault on JNU coming so soon after what happened in Jamia, BHU, Allahabad University and AMU and other institutions of higher learning in other parts of the country,” she said. Protests across campuses in the country have been gaining momentum since the crackdown on the students of Jamia Millia Islamia last month after violence during a protest they organised against the citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens. Last week, an attack by armed goons on the students and the faculty of Delhi’s premier Jawaharlal Nehru University has compounded the anger.

The agenda of today’s opposition meeting was the student protests that have been gaining momentum every day, the contentious citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens. But in a blow to opposition unity, six key parties – including the Trinamool Congress, BSP, Shiv Sena, DMK and the Samajwadi Party – are skipping the meet. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party said it was not even invited for the meeting.