Gandhi invoked Periyar and Thiruvalluvar to urge students to question authority and defend democratic rights.
He accused the Centre of imposing Hindi, undermining state universities and withholding ₹3,300 crore over the National Education Policy.
Gandhi linked the proposed delimitation exercise to concerns over Tamil Nadu’s parliamentary representation and vowed to resist attempts to undermine the State’s identity.
Chennai was meant to demonstrate the role of questioning in a democracy, and Rahul Gandhi used the occasion to make that case. Students gathered at the city’s Island Ground, drawn partly by rapper Arivu and the band Thaikudam Bridge, but stayed to hear the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha address issues that mattered to them.
The sixth edition of the Congress’s Chhatron Ki Goonj programme, themed “Curiosity gives you power”, aimed to promote scientific temper, critical thinking and curiosity among students. Invoking social reformer Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and poet Thiruvalluvar, Gandhi said questioning was essential to education, social progress and democracy.
Referring to Periyar’s philosophy, he urged students not to accept ideas simply because someone else had expressed them, but to examine and question everything. Citing Thiruvalluvar, he said the more one learnt, the more knowledge followed.
Rahul Gandhi said curiosity empowered students to explore ideas, make choices and imagine a future for themselves, their families and their State. He added that language, culture, history, traditions and the land people came from shaped their curiosity.
Questioning is the foundation of curiosity. Questioning is also the foundation of progress,” he said, adding that businesses, countries, innovations and artistic achievements all began with questions.
Linking curiosity to democracy, Gandhi said the Constitution protected citizens’ right to question those in power, while voting allowed them to demand answers from elected representatives.
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of suppressing dissent, referring to protests in Delhi where, he alleged, internet services had been suspended and students beaten up.
"They are silencing voices, as you saw in Delhi. The entire city was shut down, internet was shut down. Police were beating students. BJP released their own ‘goons’ who were beating and thrashing students,” Gandhi said.
He accused Modi of undermining democracy through the alleged police action against student protesters.
During an interaction, Gandhi asked a student what Periyar would have said to Modi. The student invoked Periyar’s principles, arguing that patriarchy, religious beliefs and the subjugation of women were not the strongest foundations for society. Humanity, the student said, was the strongest principle.
Gandhi also invited S Manirathnam, the brother of S Anita, who died by suicide after failing to clear the NEET medical entrance examination, on to the stage and spoke to him.
For many students, NEET and the other issues Gandhi raised were important. However, several said they had attended because their colleges had instructed them to. Simran and Nasreen, students at a technical college, said their institution had closed for the day and the college authorities had asked them to attend.
Kalaivathi, a student from another college on the outskirts of Chennai, said they had registered for the event but had also been asked by the college to attend. “My father likes Rahul Gandhi and I would like to see what he has to say,” she added.
However, several of the girl students were seen leaving half-way through Gandhi’s speech as it was getting late for them.
Gandhi Accuses Union Government Of Undermining Tamil Identity
To ensure that the young students never forget what was done to the state by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Gandhi played videos of former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan being critical of the state and calling its people “uncivilised” and former Governor R.N. Ravi refusing to appoint Vice Chancellors in the state.
Gandhi accused the Modi government of attacking Tamil Nadu’s language, culture, history and traditions. Referring to a video in which Union Home Minister Amit Shah allegedly advocated the imposition of Hindi, he said the Centre was treating Tamil identity as secondary to its own language and traditions.
He alleged that 70 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s state universities lacked vice-chancellors and accused Ravi of seeking to ensure that people affiliated with the RSS ran the institutions. He also warned that the proposed delimitation exercise could reduce Tamil Nadu’s representation in Parliament, describing it as an attempt to punish the State.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Governor’s decision to withhold assent to 10 Bills, Gandhi presented the dispute as part of a wider conflict between the State and the Union government.
Hitting at the union government for killing curiosity, Gandhi claimed that BJP government had withheld Rs 3,300 cr from the state using the New Education Policy, and pointed to 87 per cent fall in Tamil-medium students’ share of MBBS seats in NEET.
Accusing Modi of using fear, hatred and division, he vowed to resist attempts to undermine Tamil identity. “We are not going to let Narendra Modi attack the Tamil language, Tamil history, Tamil culture, nothing. He is not going to touch Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Turning to national politics, Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of undermining democracy through what he called “vote chori” and “election chori”. He said the Opposition was increasingly challenging Modi and named Shah, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat while accusing them of undermining democratic institutions.
Gandhi vowed to hold those responsible for alleged attacks on democracy accountable, saying no constitutional officeholder, including the Prime Minister and Home Minister, should be above the law.
Addressing student protests, including demonstrations at Jawaharlal Nehru University, he alleged that thousands of students, journalists and lawyers had been arrested. He questioned why the Union government was failing to protect citizens’ fundamental rights, particularly those of students, and criticised what he described as attacks on their dignity and freedom of expression.
“Nobody is going to be able to crush the spirit of this country, crush the students of this country,” he said, arguing that political power and financial resources could not suppress people’s rights indefinitely.
Gandhi also alleged that international and financial forces had compromised Modi and were controlling him. He said the Prime Minister was fighting for his political survival and that the changing mood among students, alongside the Opposition’s work over the past five to 10 years, was catching up with him.
Assuring students protesting in Delhi and elsewhere of the Opposition’s support, Gandhi said those responsible for alleged violations of democratic rights would be held accountable. He urged students to stand by their beliefs and continue questioning those in power.
The Chennai event was part of the Congress’s nationwide Chhatron Ki Goonj campaign, which seeks to engage students on issues including examination irregularities, paper leaks, rising education costs, recruitment and unemployment.
