Patna: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi surmounted all hurdles with a dare ‘rok sako, toh rok lo’ (stop me if you can) to reach the Ambedkar Hostel in Bihar’s Darbhanga on Thursday to interact with the Dalit, tribal and backward classes’ students as a part of his party’s ongoing ‘Shiksha Nyay Samvad’ (education justice dialogue).
The Congress leader batted for a proper caste census, reservation for the deprived and downtrodden students in private colleges and universities, and implementation of welfare schemes for them during his daylong visit to the state.
Wearing his white, now trademark, white t-shirt, Rahul refused to stop despite the police trying to check him. He left his vehicle when it was stopped enroute and thrusted ahead on foot to reach the venue, despite the district administration declaring that it has not granted permission for the event and has imposed prohibitory orders section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
“You have to do your work, I have to do my work. You do your work; I will do mine. You first stopped us, then you are taking us somewhere else. This is nonsense. This is a democratic country, not a dictatorship,” Rahul told the police and district administration officials asking him to stop.
Indicating towards the crowd of officials trying to check him, the Congress leader told them that if section 144 (of the CrPC equivalent of section 163 of the BNSS) has been imposed then they should be removed.
“I have made a commitment to the students that I am coming, and I am going there. Nobody can stop us from raising our voice for social justice and education,” he added further.
The Congress leader accused the ‘double-engine’ National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of trying to stop him from interacting with the Dalit and backward students.
“Since when interactions have become a crime. What are you afraid of Nitish ji? Do you want to hide the condition of education and social justice in Bihar,” Rahul added.
Rahul reached the venue and pointed out to the students that the Dalits, tribals, and people belonging to the backward and extremely backward castes faced injustice round the clock.
“You all are discriminated against and stopped in the educational system. We demand that the caste census should be done properly, and reservation should be implemented in private colleges and universities,” Rahul told the students.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bihar government are not implementing these measures. We will pressurize them and get them implemented. They would not be able to stop these steps just like they failed to stop me,” the Congress leader added.
Addressing the students further, Rahul, who is also the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, pointed out that the Bihar Police tried to stop him, but failed because of the power of the youth with him. He stated that no power in the world could stop him.
Senior Congress leaders asserted that it was a pre-planned conspiracy by the state government to sabotage Rahul’s programme at Darbhanga on the pretext of raising the issue of permission at the last minute, though similar programmes were held at 60 other places across the state without any hiccups.
Asking whether it was against the Constitution to communicate with the Dalits, deprived and backward class students, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Bihar, the birthplace of democracy, will remember this injustice and give a befitting reply to the JDU – BJP at an opportune time.”
Earlier, the district administration had refused permission for the event citing that political programmes could not be organised at government-run hostels.
“Permission for such programmes in hostels is nowhere given in the country because they negatively impact the educational environment. We have informed them (Congress leaders) and they know this. We have allotted them space in the town hall instead,” Darbhanga district magistrate Rajiv Raushan said.
Later in the day, Rahul returned to Patna and watched the movie ‘Phule’ in a multiplex. It is based on the lives and time of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, who were social reformers and pioneers in the field of women’s education.
Rahul also interacted with Padma Shri awardee and social activist Sudha Varghese, Right To Education activist Anil Kumar Rai, doctor A.A. Hai, and a couple of transgenders.
While Varghese informed him about her work among the Musahar (rat-eater) community and called for development programmes to ensure their uplift, Hai discussed the issues pertaining to the minority community.
Rahul asked the transgenders about their problems that he could raise in the Lok Sabha, to which they replied that special attention should be paid to fulfill their housing needs.
The Congress MP from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh left Patna in the evening after telling media persons that “there was a concerted attempt to disturb my programme and stop me, but we completed it successfully."
Meanwhile, the Darbhanga district administration lodged two FIRs against Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders at the Laheriasarai police station for holding a public meeting without taking a no-objection certificate, obstructing the public servants from discharging their duty, and floating the prohibitory orders.
The FIRs were registered on the complaints of the Darbhanga district welfare officer Alok Kumar. Apart from Rahul, 19 others including Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajesh Kumar, MLC Madan Mohan Jha and others have been named accused, while 25 others are unnamed accused in the two cases.
