Students unions to begin campaign against Modi govt
Chennai, Feb 15: A pan-India students and youths organisations' collective-Young India National Coordination Committee (YINCC) has said it will begin campaigns next month across the country to vote BJP out of power for "ditching" the student community.
The body, consisting of 42 students and youth organisations, includes students' unions of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Allahabad University and Rajasthan University.
JNU Students Union President (JNUSU) Sai Balaji said the collective would begin campaigns across the country from next month (March), in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
"The present government has clearly ditched us in several ways and we have been bearing the brunt of it. This campaign is also to vote the BJP out of power," Balaji told PTI during an interaction.
Last week, thousands of students and youths of the collective took out a march in the national capital from Red Fort to Parliament Street demanding jobs and better educational opportunities.
"To any new government, our demands would be to fill all vacant posts in the government, offer an education loan waiver," Balaji said, referring to a charter released by YINCC.
The charter demands allocation of at least 10 per cent on education in the budget, ending the practice of alleged seat-cuts in universities, fee hike, reservation-cut in higher educational institutions.
"End gender discriminatory rules, ensure academic freedom and freedom of expression on campuses, fulfil constitutionally-mandated reservations," it said.
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UP Cong chief Ajay Rai hospitalised after fainting, stable
Lucknow (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was hospitalised here after he fell unconscious due to low sodium levels, party leaders said on Saturday.
They said he was admitted to Medanta Hospital on Friday evening and is stable.
"Ajay Rai was admitted to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow at around 6 pm on Friday after he fell unconscious as his sodium levels had dropped. He fell unconscious at his residence in Lucknow. For the entire day, he was engaged in party programmes and had also gone to the airport," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Anshu Awasthi told PTI.
Congress in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Avinash Pande told PTI, "Now, he (Ajay Rai) is stable and I am also reaching Lucknow."
Medanta Hospital Director Dr Rakesh Kapoor told PTI that Rai collapsed at his home on Friday evening and was subsequently admitted to the hospital's emergency ward.
Medical examinations revealed that Rai was suffering from a sodium deficiency and elevated blood pressure. Doctors administered immediate treatment and he is doing significantly better now, Kapoor said.
A team of doctors is monitoring his health. Rai is conversing with others and his condition is stable, he added.
In a post on X late Friday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished Rai a speedy recovery.
Rai hails from Varanasi and had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections against Modi from the parliamentary constituency. The Congress appointed him as the Uttar Pradesh unit chief in 2023.
