Pune, Aug 20 (PTI) Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Thursday refuted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s claim that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Gunj’ programme in Pune will be restricted to only the students of colleges run by Congress leaders.
The August 22 event at AISSMS College ground will be open to all students, he said.
Sapkal was in Pune to review the arrangements for the programme.
It will be a dialogue with young female students, he said.
“This programme is taking place in Pune, the city of Savitribai Phule who was a pioneer in girls’ education, and Jijamata, who gave the mantra of Hindavi Swarajya to (her son) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,” Sapkal told reporters.
Responding to Fadnavis’ claim that the event would be limited to students from colleges run by Congress leaders, Sapkal said there was no such restriction.
“We have not called people by filling buses, or appealed to (party) workers. We have a barcode. One has to register by using it. Students of any caste, any religion, any party can come to our programme. This is not a party programme. Our party symbol, our flag will not be there,” he said.
Fadnavis, speaking in Nagpur, had said the event would be held in a “controlled setting” and was likely to be a “monologue” rather than an open dialogue. He had added that as per his information, Gandhi would interact with students registered with colleges run by Congress leaders.
Sapkal claimed that RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent interaction with youngsters was a “fixed match”. The students had been coached prior to the programme, he alleged, adding that Fadnavis must be having the same expectation about the Congress event.
“But our programme is open to all. If someone from the CM’s family wants to come, they can scan the barcode and come. They are also welcome,” said Sapkal.
“The Chief Minister is LLB, and highly educated. He should know what a barcode is. He wants to capture and control everything 24 hours. But a barcode cannot be controlled. We are giving entry to those who register through the barcode,” the Congress leader added.
The event will focus on issues of paper leaks and students’ other concerns, Sapkal said, adding that in Jharkhand, where exams were cancelled after student protests, Gandhi had stood with the students. PTI SPK KRK
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