Rahul plans 'behtar bharat' by championing students' cause

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has written an open letter to the students of India, promising to champion their cause and asked the party's student wing, National Students Union of India (NSUI) to launch a "Behtar Bharat" campaign to put the students' issues on the national agenda ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He stresses that the students are the nation builders because nations today forge ahead not with war but with advances in science, technology, art and literature and with the embrace of rationality and justice. This is stark contrast to the putrid nationalism being purveyed elsewhere by the parties like the BJP, contingent on hate, bigotry and irrationality.

Rahul articulates some of the key concerns of students - high fees, tough competition for limited seats, lack of information/direction, gap between education and employment etc and has promised to ensure that students get the respect and support they deserve to fulfill their aspirations.

The letter, translated in all regional languages, will be distributed by the NSUI in colleges across the country as part of its Behtar Bharat campaign to mobilise students around an egalitarian students/youth agenda, says Ruchi Gupta, AICC joint secretary, in-charge of the NSUI. The campaign's name in nonHindi speaking states is "Future of India."