Left-wing student bodies hold rally

Anshita Mehra

New Delhi, February 28

A group of students and youth from various Left-wing student unions took out the Young India rally to show their commitment towards democratic principles. They gathered at the HKS Surjeet Bhavan to declare the ‘Young India charter’.

At the public meeting, Gopal Rai, a Cabinet Minister in the Delhi Government, voiced concerns about the alleged erosion of democratic rights under the current regime at the Centre. “If this regime continues its reign in 2024, we might not even be able to hold meetings like this,” he said.

Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan criticised the government’s silence on critical issues such as MGNREGA and MSP and condemned its allegedly divisive rhetoric.

Nandita Narain, Former president of the DU Teachers’ Association, stressed the importance of safeguarding public institutions and called for sustained efforts to oust ‘fascists’ from power.

Journalist Naveen Kumar highlighted Young India’s rejection of hate politics while CPI (ML) MLA Sandeep Saurav criticised the government’s alleged focus on ‘horse-trading’ and hacking EVMs instead of addressing vital concerns like education and employment.

Leaders of various organisations, including AISA, SFI, MSF, AISF, PSU, RYA and AIYL, addressed the rally. They stressed the need for collective action against the ‘authoritarian tendencies’.