In a conversation with IIT Madras students, Rahul Gandhi said Congress favours fair and inclusive growth and BJP supports ‘triple-down’ economic approach.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi explained to IIT Madras students the difference between his party and the BJP. He said that the grand old party believed in the fair distribution of resources and promoting broader, inclusive growth. In a freewheeling conversation with students of one of the country’s most prestigious institutions, Gandhi stated that the saffron party was more focused on “trickle-down” growth.
“They believe in what in economic terms is ‘triple-down’. On the social front, we feel that the more harmonious society is, the less people are fighting, the better it is for the country. On the international relations front, there are probably some differences with regards to the way we relate to other countries, but they will be similar,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi expressed that he believed that it is the prime responsibility of any government in power to guarantee quality education to youths, which could not be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives.
I believe it is one of the foremost responsibilities of any government to guarantee quality education to its people. This cannot be achieved through privatisation and financial incentives.
We need to spend a lot more money on education and strengthening government institutions. pic.twitter.com/tBkZxj6NmN
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 4, 2025
Responding to a question on how higher education should be promoted, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha stated that a country must guarantee quality education to its youths.
“I don’t think that the best way to guarantee quality education to our people is to privatise everything. Frankly, when you bring some sort of financial incentive into the game, you don’t actually give quality education,” he told the IIT Madras students.
“I have said this many a times that the best institutions in our country are government institutions, yours being one of them. I argue for much more money being spent in education by governments,” Gandhi added.
Gandhi also expressed that he had “serious problems” with India’s education system, stating that the system had a “very narrow, restrictive and a top-down” approach.
“You might not agree with me. I think it is a very restrictive and a top-down system. It is very narrow. I don’t think our education system allows the imagination of our children to thrive,” he said.
“One of the things that I want to push is moving more into the physical production space. To me, real innovation comes from that space. Put as much money you want in research and development, if you are not actually producing the thing, it will just be a budget,” he said.
Reflecting on his 2022-23 Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi shared that he interacted with thousands of children who opened up about their dreams and aspirations. Many of them expressed their desire to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, or army soldiers.
“It can’t be that there are only five things to do in this country. But that’s what our system is pushing,” he said, noting that the country’s education system measures success only if one becomes an engineer or a doctor, or join the IAS/IPS or get into the forces, “which is just one percent or two percent of our population and 90 percent of our population is never going to do this”.
