Attempt to push RSS agenda: Rahul slams govt at protest against draft UGC regulations

New Delhi: Top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that the UGC's draft regulation on appointment of Vice Chancellors and teachers in universities and colleges is an attempt to push RSS’ agenda of “one history, one tradition, one language” but people will not allow imposition of its “bankrupt” ideology in the country.

Addressing a protest against the draft organised by the DMK students wing, which also saw the participation of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, the Congress leader said the RSS was trying to attack everything people are standing for.

He said the Congress does not accept the RSS vision of the country, which seeks eradication of all other histories, all other cultures and all other traditions in this country.

“This is its starting point and that is what it wants to achieve. They attack the Constitution because it wants to achieve one history, one tradition, one language in this country. This attempt that it is doing with the education system of different states is just another attempt to push its agenda,” he said.

“We have to respect all the languages, all the cultures, all the traditions, all the histories and we have to understand where they are coming from,” he said adding that the RSS wants to impose its “bankrupt ideology” on the country but it would not be allowed.

The Tamil people have their history, language, traditions, and they have had their struggles, he said adding, "Doing this (UGC draft regulation) is an insult to the Tamil people and also to all other states where the RSS is trying to impose its hegemony.”

He said he wished that multiple protests like this should happen because the RSS needs to be made to understand that they cannot attack the Constitution. “They cannot attack our states. They cannot attack our cultures, our traditions and our histories,” he said.

Akhilesh said his party supports the protest against the New Education Policy (NEP). Former Prime Minister AB Vajpayee once said that if you keep supporting industrialists, one day will come when you would become the servants of industrialists

“The NEP is a conspiracy to give the universities to the industrialists…They want to take over all the powers of the state government. They want to make politics and politicians the servants of industrialists. We will never support the NEP...They want to make politicians servants of industrialists,” he said.