Modi's inauguration plan for Veer Savarkar College under DU draws flak from Congress

Singh on Thursday said the DU's new campuses will be ready in the next 1.5 to two years, significantly expanding the university's infrastructure and creating more opportunities for students.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for a college in Delhi named after controversial Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar on Friday, triggering a backlash from the Congress with its student's wing demanding that the institution be named after late Manmohan Singh.

The Veer Savarkar College is coming up in Najafgarh and is one of the three projects of Delhi University for which the Prime Minister will be laying the foundation stone. The other two projects—new campuses in East and West Delhi—will also see its start with the laying of foundation stones by Modi, who will also unveil two urban redevelopment projects, including 1,675 flats for slum dwellers.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 140 crore, the Veer Savarkar College has a built-up area of 18,816.56 square metres and offers state-of-the-art facilities, including 24 classrooms, eight tutorial rooms, 40 faculty rooms, department libraries, conference rooms, and a canteen. The East Campus is being built in Surajmal Vihar while the West Campus is coming up in Dwarka, which will add to the existing North and South campuses.

Modi's programme comes just days before the Election Commission is slated to announce the dates for Assembly elections in the national capital.

However, this has not gone down well with the Congress, with senior Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain claiming that the BJP was glorifying mercy petition writers to the British while disregarding the contribution of the freedom fighters.

"Many people lived for the country and hugely contributed to the freedom struggle. The BJP is giving legitimacy to those people who have written mercy petitions to the British and taken pensions from them," he said.

NSU(I) president Varun Choudhary wrote to the Prime Minister demanding that the new college be named after Manmohan Singh, who passed away on December 26 and had left a "deep void". He said the most fitting tribute to Singh's legacy would be to dedicate premier educational institutions in his name.

Citing "monumental contributions" like Central Universities Act, 2009, Right to Education Act 2009 and establishing IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and a network of central universities that "revolutionised" the country's education system, he demanded that a world class college under University of Delhi be named after him. He also wanted a Central university named after Singh.

Choudhary also demanded that Singh's life journey—from a post-partition student to a global icon—should be included in curricula.

"Singh's legacy as a scholar, economist and public servant embodies resilience, merit, and dedication to public welfare. Naming institutions after him will inspire generations and honour his transformative vision. The government must act immediately to recognise his unparalleled contributions to India," he added.