Hyderabad: BJP Telangana president N Ramchander Rao on Sunday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to bring his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme to Hyderabad and hear the grievances of students facing problems over fee reimbursement and employment.Rao said Rahul, who has been travelling to NDA-ruled states claiming to be the voice of students and youth, should first listen to students in Telangana, where the Congress is in power.He alleged that the future of nearly 20 lakh SC, ST, BC and EBC students was being jeopardised because of the state govt’s failure to clear long-pending fee reimbursement dues.Rao claimed thousands of students were unable to pursue higher education or take up employment because educational institutions were withholding their original certificates over unpaid fee dues.“Is Rahul Gandhi unaware of this, or does his concern for students end wherever Congress is in power?” he asked.He also targeted Rahul over the Congress’s employment promises made during the 2023 assembly election campaign. Rao recalled Rahul’s visit to Ashok Nagar, where, he said, promises were made regarding a job calendar, employment and unemployment allowance.More than two-and-a-half years after Congress came to power, the promises remained unfulfilled, he alleged.Calling Rahul a “leader of propaganda”, Rao asked whether the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was prepared to hear the “real goonj” of Telangana students.“If Rahul Gandhi is genuinely serious about ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, I challenge him to hold the programme at Ashok Nagar itself and face the very youth to whom he made these promises,” Rao added.
