Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reached Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras on Saturday and interacted with the students there. During this, a student asked how BJP and Congress are different? To this Rahul replied that Congress works impartially, whereas BJP works with an aggressive approach. Rahul said that Congress believes in equitable distribution of resources and inclusive growth, while BJP aggressively focuses on growth.
Rahul said, they (BJP) believe in ‘trickle-down’ from the economic point of view. He believes that focus should be on resources. In economic terms they call it trickle down. Whereas on the social front, we believe that the more harmonious and full of harmony the society is, the less people fight, the better it will be for the country.
On the international relations front, there may possibly be some differences in the way we interact with other countries, but it will be similar, the Congress leader said.
Rahul emphasized that governments should spend more on ensuring quality education. This cannot be achieved through privatization and financial incentives.
What did Rahul Gandhi say about education?
When asked how higher education should be promoted? Rahul Gandhi said that the country should guarantee quality education to its people.
I don’t think the best way to guarantee quality education to our people is to privatize everything, he told the students of IIT Madras. Frankly, when you bring in any kind of financial incentive, you are not actually providing quality education.
He said, I have said many times that the best institutions in our country are government institutions, your institution is also one of them. I am in favor of governments spending more money on education.
Regarding the education system, Rahul Gandhi said that you may not agree with me. I think it’s a very restrictive and top-down system. It is very narrow. I do not think that our education system allows the imagination of our children to flourish.
He strongly advocated innovation and said, this is possible only when they start production and their skills are respected and invested in.
He said, what I want to emphasize is to move forward in the field of material production. For me, real innovation comes from that area. You can invest as much money as you want in research and development, if you are not actually producing the thing it will just be a budget.
What is trickle down?
Under the trickle-down principle, the benefits of giving tax concessions to big businesses and businessmen (the rich) reach all sections of the society. This theory argues that giving exemptions to the rich from their spending helps in stronger economic growth and its benefits reach all classes. This principle first came into existence during the tenure of US President Ronald Reagan.
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