Tribal hostel row: BJP asks Rahul Gandhi to inspect Congress-ruled states before Maharashtra

The BJP has hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis concerning the grievances of tribal students asking him to first examine the functioning of tribal welfare departments and hostels in Congressruled Telangana and KarnatakaThe Maharashtra BJP accused Gandhi of following a pattern of doing wrong first then creating noise when action is taken and said the state government was capable of protecting the interests of tribal communities and studentsThe ruling party also alleged that some tribal schools in Maharashtra where students have been protesting are run by Congress leaders and accused Gandhi of attempting to shield themBJP asks Gandhi to look at Congressruled statesIn a post on X late Monday night the Maharashtra BJP said Gandhi should examine the functioning of tribal welfare departments and hostels in Telangana and Karnataka where the Congress is in power before raising concerns about MaharashtraRahul Gandhi we dont expect fair or wellresearched views from you but here are some facts the public should know the party saidThe BJP alleged that tribal schools in Maharashtra against which students have raised concerns are run by Congress leadersA few days ago three young girls died at a school whose director Marotrao Kowase is a former Congress MP His son Vishwajeet Kowase is the Gadchiroli District Congress Committee president and the schools secretary it claimedThe allegations come amid a political exchange over the conditions in tribalrun educational institutions and government hostels across MaharashtraBJP cites Yavatmal school inspectionThe BJP also referred to an inspection at an ashram school or residential school in Yavatmal where it alleged that bathrooms meant for girls did not have doorsThe party claimed that the school is run by Vasant Purke a former minister and Congress leaderWhen Congress was in power it wrongly took control of these schools and misused them the BJP alleged accusing Congress leaders of exploiting tribal communitiesThe ruling party said attempts to prevent action against leaders associated with the institutions would not succeedThe allegations made by the BJP are part of the wider political dispute over the management of tribal educational institutions and the conditions in which students are studying and livingRahul Gandhi raises hostel concernsGandhi had on Monday written to Fadnavis urging him to look into the problems faced by tribal students in Maharashtra who have been on hunger strike for the last 10 daysThe Congress leader said the students were protesting against an age limit and alleged humiliating rules in staterun hostels He also asked the Chief Minister to meet the protesting students personally and resolve their concerns at the earliestOne of the issues raised by Gandhi was the reported 30year age limit for students staying in government hostels He also referred to concerns over hostel safety and alleged rules affecting female studentsGandhi flags alleged humiliating rulesIn a post on X Gandhi said During the Chhatron ki Goonj event in Pune female students shared that hostels enforce an unnecessary age limit of 30 years humiliating rules unsafe facilities and inhuman provisions such as pregnancy checks for womenGandhi also said the students were seeking their rights rather than government charity and urged Fadnavis to engage with them directlyThese students coming from remote villages and towns are not asking for charity they are demanding their rightful entitlements It is expected that you Fadnavis will meet them personally and immediately resolve their issues Gandhi said while sharing a memorandum from students along with his letterPolitical row intensifies over tribal welfareThe Maharashtra BJPs response has shifted the focus from the students immediate demands to the functioning of tribal schools and institutions linked to political leadersWhile Gandhi has called on the Maharashtra government to address the grievances of protesting students the BJP has argued that Congress leaders should first examine institutions and tribal welfare systems in states governed by their own partyWith inputs from PTI