New Delhi | In a fresh outreach to the GenZ, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday launched an "Ask Me Anything" session on Instagram during which he answered questions, including one on the student protest in Jharkhand, and asserted that every government should listen to what students are saying.
Gandhi invited young people to ask him questions via Instagram Stories, saying he would answer as many as possible.
Posting a link to his Instagram initiative on X, Gandhi said, "Students, Gen-Z -- I’m here to listen. Ask me anything on Instagram, and I’ll answer as many questions as I can."
The Congress put out video clips of two questions he answered.
To a question asking him to support the student protest in Jharkhand, Gandhi said, "The student protests that are happening in the country are against the education system. I have stated it clearly, in Kota, Dehradun and will say it in Allahabad, that our education system has collapsed, it is unaffordable and oppressive."
"Every government, be it the central government, Congress government or Jharkhand government, should listen to what students are saying and take action to change the education system," he said.
The protest against the alleged irregularities in recruitment exams in Jharkhand entered its 13th day on Thursday with six demonstrators on a hunger strike, while agitating students and job aspirants formed an 11-member delegation to hold talks with the state government to resolve the impasse.
The protest, which began on July 25 under the banner of the JPSC-JSSC Reforms Manch at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, emerged as one of the biggest student-led movements in the state in recent years.
Asked about his message to young women fighting for their right to study, Gandhi said, "India's women are our strength, our biggest asset and frankly I do not appreciate the way women are treated in society, the way our education system treats our women and the way our corporate system treats our women. Women deserve equal space in every sphere of life. In fact I believe they deserve more than equal space in every sphere of life."
"You be confident, you be brave, you be powerful, exactly how you are and we are there to fully support you," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
The initiative comes a day after Gandhi met a group of students who had protested last month seeking then education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the paper leaks issue and faced alleged police excesses on July 20.
Gandhi on Wednesday had alleged Home Minister Amit Shah was responsible for the violence against protesting youngsters and that he does not have the courage to explain in Parliament what happened with the students.
Gandhi has been regularly posting snippets from his interaction with students and parents on Instagram recently.
The Instagram outreach by Gandhi comes amid the BJP also sharpening its digital outreach to young people following the recent NEET-UG paper leak controversy. Instagram has emerged as a key political messaging platform, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading a coordinated push joined by several Union ministers and party leaders.
