Rahul Warns Govt as Maharashtra Students’ ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ Grows Louder
Congress leader says paper leaks, recruitment delays and poor hostel facilities have eroded students’ faith in the system
NEW DELHI, Sept 6: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday urged the Maharashtra Government to immediately address the concerns of students and job aspirants protesting across the state, warning that their collective voice would become stronger if their demands were ignored.
Gandhi said thousands of students had taken to the streets peacefully because their confidence in the examination and recruitment system had been severely undermined.
In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the protests were not limited to a single examination or recruitment issue but reflected wider dissatisfaction with the functioning of the system.
He alleged that students were facing multiple challenges, including paper leaks, delays in recruitment, rising education costs, inadequate hostel facilities and irregularities in the direct benefit transfer system.
Gandhi also criticised the functioning of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), alleging that its credibility had been damaged and that students were being forced to bear the consequences of shortcomings in the recruitment process.
He said the demands raised by students seeking a secure and successful future were legitimate and deserved an immediate response from the authorities.
“The Government must listen to their voice and act immediately,” Gandhi said, warning that the students’ movement would continue to gain momentum until their concerns were addressed and justice delivered.
The Congress leader’s remarks came after the Maharashtra Government announced the formation of a high-level committee to comprehensively review the state’s recruitment examination system.
The panel has been tasked with recommending measures to make examinations more transparent, secure, reliable and candidate-friendly.
Its review will cover several stages of the examination process, including question paper preparation and scrutiny, confidentiality and secure handling of examination material, management and security at examination centres, technology deployment and measures to prevent malpractice.
The committee will also examine coordination between different agencies, grievance redressal mechanisms and the overall experience of candidates appearing for recruitment examinations.
The move followed protests by tribal students and job aspirants in Maharashtra over concerns relating to hostel conditions, student safety and examination paper leaks.
The state government subsequently accepted several of their demands and initiated the examination reform process aimed at addressing concerns surrounding recruitment and competitive examinations.
