Rahul Gandhi flags lack of hostels for female students, seeks answers from PM

Congress leader and leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday raised the issue of inadequate hostel facilities for female students, seeking answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the difficulties faced by women pursuing education away from their hometowns.

Rahul Gandhi referred to an interaction with a female student at his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Indore on Saturday, where students raised concerns over education, recruitment, employment and hostel shortages.

“‘The government has money to light diyas — why not for our hostels?’ This question was asked of me yesterday by a female student in Indore. She came to the city from a village to study,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on Sunday.

He said the student had to stay in a paying guest accommodation because of the lack of hostel facilities, adding that the cost of rent and concerns over housing created additional pressure for students.

“Many girls drop out of their studies for this very reason — because there’s no place to live,” Rahul Gandhi said, while also questioning the adequacy of housing allowances and alleging that they fail to keep pace with inflation and are affected by corruption.

“Do you have any answer to that little girl’s question?” Rahul Gandhi asked, addressing Modi.

Congress leader Pawan Khera, tagging Rahul Gandhi’s post, also criticised the government over what he described as inadequate investment in education. He alleged that the government had prioritised spending on publicity and other areas while failing to provide adequate infrastructure, teachers, training, hostels and jobs.

The exchange came a day after Gandhi used the Indore event to criticise what he described as a “system” that discourages students from questioning authority.

“The system is afraid of students because students ask questions. The system does not want students; it wants ‘andhbhakts’,” Rahul Gandhi had said at the event.

He said students were curious, questioned institutions and sought answers on recruitment, examinations and employment, while alleging that the existing system sought to suppress such questioning.

Rahul Gandhi also alleged that the “system” involved several influential political, institutional and business figures, naming Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.

At the event, students raised several concerns, including recruitment delays, examination-related issues, rising education costs and shortages of hostels and scholarships.

Rahul Gandhi’s remarks were part of the fifth edition of ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, a youth outreach programme focused on education, recruitment and employment issues.

With PTI inputs