Rahul Gandhi writes to Congress functionaries

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday wrote to party functionaries, urging them to turn the student campaign launched by the party’s youth and student wings – Indian Youth Congress and NSUI – into a “countrywide movement.”The letter was addressed to Congress general secretaries, state in-charges, and heads of state, district, and city units.The grand old party has launched the “Chhatron Ki Goonj” campaign, led by Rahul Gandhi, to reach out to students in the wake of the recent NEET-UG paper leak and other exam-related issues.“The young people of India are facing an unprecedented crisis. Paper leaks, cancelled examinations, repeated re-examinations, delays in recruitment, vacant government posts, rising unemployment, and the growing cost of education have caused deep distress to them and their families,” the Lok Sabha leader of the opposition wrote in the letter.

Rahul Gandhi letter

Rahul Gandhi further described India’s education system as placing “immense pressure” on the youth and said there was a need to expose the “oppression and extortion” students face.“We are all aware that it is a system that places immense pressure on young people and pushes their families into a spiral of debt, sustained stress and suffering, instead of supporting them as they choose career paths and build strong futures for themselves. We need to expose the truth of the oppression and extortion being faced by India’s youth and create momentum for a message to be carried across the country in a coordinated and effective manner,” the Raebareli MP said.“Let us all work together to free our youth from this oppressive system and lay the foundation for a new system that provides them with the opportunity and support they deserve,” he added.Rahul Gandhi addressed the first “Chhatron Ki Goonj” rally in Kota on June 17 and is scheduled to hold similar rallies in Prayagraj on July 10, Patna on July 11, and Delhi on July 14.All four cities are major coaching hubs, with Kota in Rajasthan and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh being particularly prominent due to the large concentration of coaching centres.The Congress’s protest rallies are part of its broader effort to engage students and Gen Z, seeking to mobilise support against the Modi government, particularly in the wake of the NEET paper leak and the CBSE onscreen marking issue.(With PTI inputs)