"Complete derailment": Manickam Tagore criticises Bihar govt over living situation of students

New Delhi [India], June 12 (ANI): Congress MP Manickam Tagore slammed the double-engine government in Bihar over the "complete derailment" of living conditions for students from the marginalised communities residing in hostels of the state.
He said that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi had mentioned that the "lack of amenities" in a Bihar hostel he visited and highlighted the delays in post-matric scholarships for students coming from the marginalised sections of society.
"LoP Rahul Gandhi has raised a very genuine issue. It is the issue of the (students from) backward classes, extremely backward classes, scheduled caste, and scheduled tribe and their hostel. The double-engine government of Modi and Nitish Kumar has completely derailed. We can see the hostel and the conditions of the students who are living there. Rahul Gandhi wrote it very clearly in that letter," Tagore told ANI.
Tagore focused on the importance of public spaces like a hostel, where students seek opportunities for their future. He hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would act on the issue raised by Rahul Gandhi, instead of engaging in politics over the same.
"Hope the PM acts on it, but doesn't do politics on it. Let us understand that hostels are the places where we are going to give the kind of opportunities to the extremely backward class, most backward class, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students, who are going to be the future of India. The quality of their hostel has to be improved, and I hope the PM acts on it and asks the CM and others to act on it in other states also," the Congress MP added.
Earlier, Gandhi wrote to PM Modi, claiming delays in post-matric scholarships for students from marginalised communities. The letter came following Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to a hostel in Bihar, where students complained, among other things, about alleged lack of mess facilities.
"I request you to resolve two critical issues that hinder education opportunities for the 90 per cent of students who are from marginalised communities. Firstly, the conditions in residential hostels for students from Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority communities are deplorable. During a recent visit to Ambedkar Hostel in Darbhanga, Bihar, students complained about single rooms which 6-7 students were forced to share, unhygienic toilets, unsafe drinking water, lack of mess facilities, and no access to libraries or the internet," Rahul Gandhi said in his letter dated June 10.
The Congress MP further said, "Secondly, post-matric scholarships for students from marginalised communities are plagued by delays and failures. For example, in Bihar, the scholarship portal was non-functional for three years no student received a scholarship in 2021-22. Even thereafter, the number of Dalit students receiving scholarships fell by nearly half, from 1.36 lakh in FY23 to 0.69 lakh in FY24. Students further complain that the scholarship amounts are insultingly low," the letter added.
The Lok Sabha LoP suggested that the government should take two actions to overcome these difficulties.
The letter read, "While I have cited examples from Bihar, these failures are widespread across the country. I urge the government to immediately take two actions to remedy these failures: Audit every hostel for students from Dalit, ST, EBC, OBC and minority communities to ensure good infrastructure, sanitation, food, and academic facilities; and allocate adequate funds to address deficiencies. Disburse post-matric scholarships on time, increase scholarship amounts, and improve execution by working closely with state governments." (ANI)