Rahul Gandhi Backs Tribal Students’ Agitation
Gandhi interacted with protesting tribal students from Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur to understand their issues and assured them that the Congress party stands with them in their struggle.
Mumbai: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday interacted with tribal students who successfully held protests earlier this month, in Nashik and assured them of complete support from his party.
Gandhi interacted with protesting tribal students from Nashik, Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur to understand their issues and assured them that the Congress party stands with them in their struggle.
Following the deaths of three tribal girls from snakebite at an ashram school in Gadchiroli district, students from Pune, Nagpur and Nashik had begun the agitation on August 13 over changes to government tribal hostel rules. Their demands subsequently expanded to include hostel facilities and safety, tribal reservations, recruitment to vacant posts, appointments under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), caste validity certificates and compensation for the families of three tribal girls who died of snake bites. The State Government has assured that all their demands have been accepted, including recruitment for 12,500 posts.
During his Nashik visit, Gandhi met a delegation of students and representatives of the tribal community and discussed their issues. The Congress leader has repeatedly expressed concerns over government-run hostels for tribal students, including what he described as humiliating rules, unsafe facilities and inhumane provisions.
Gandhi also visited his party’s training programme, organised under the Congress’ ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan,’ which concluded on Wednesday in Nashik. He urged newly elected Maharashtra Congress district presidents to remain firmly committed to party ideology and fight to ensure justice for people.
Arif Naseem Khan, a member of the Congress Working Committee, said Gandhi met newly-elected district presidents and also their families. “He gave them the message that they should stand solidly with the ideology of the Congress and fight to ensure that people get justice,” he said.
This was Gandhi’s second visit to the state since August 22, when he held the Pune leg of the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ student movement against paper leaks, exam irregularities and rising fees. During the event, Gandhi highlighted issues concerning women’s safety, rights, and social control.
