New Delhi, Jun 23 (IANS): A day after the University Grants Commission (UGC) asked the universities and colleges to put up banners thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for starting the free vaccination drive for the 18+ population, the National Students Union of India (NSUI) on Tuesday described it as a "shameless act" and demanded UGC to address the students issues first.
NSUI national president Neeraj Lundan condemned the UGC's order to put up posters thanking the Prime Minister for free vaccine doses, asking: "Thank the Prime Minister for what?"
Calling it a "shameless act of the Modi government", Kundan said, "It has been more than a year since the pandemic broke out in the country, but the government is only focused on building the Prime Minister's image, leaving the people to suffer."
He said that rather than prioritising vaccination for the students or focusing on the policies to compensate for their lost academic year, the government is busy hiding its failures behind such self-appreciating posters.
"The Prime Minister deserves to be asked questions. The people deserve an answer from him as to why the people of this country are dying under his watch," Lundan said.
The NSUI leader further made an appeal to all the students to counter the posters' move by ‘thanking' the Prime Minister on five issues.
He asked the students to thank the Prime Minister for i) not declaring any relief package for the students; ii) for not making any vaccination policy for the students; iii) for not giving any relaxation on fees and loans to the students; vi) for ignoring the voices of the unemployed, and v) for being the reason to ruin the academic year of the students.
He said the NSUI plans to respond to these posters on the university campuses by initiating a campaign titled ‘Thank You for What?'
NSUI national secretary Lokesh Chugh said that the student wing through this campaign plans to expose the Central government by putting up posters asking the government as to ‘what does the Prime Minister want the people to thank him for'.