Parliament LIVE | States' duty to supervise coaching centres: Dharmendra Pradhan
Rajya Sabha holds short duration discussion under rule 176 on death of three students in a Delhi coaching centre
The Rajya Sabha on Monday (July 29) held a short duration discussion under rule 176 on the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a coaching centre in Delhi due to water logging.
Allowing the discussion, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the culture of coaching centres has become no less than a "gas chamber" and stressed on the need to examine the huge expenditure incurred on newspaper advertisements by them.
“I find that youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured, I further find that coaching has become virtually commerce." He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to commercialisation of education.
"Coachings have become a flourishing industry with high returns....every time we read a newspaper front one or two pages are by way of advertisements....Every penny spent on advertisement is coming from the students, every new building is coming from the students," he said.
Comparing the coaching culture to no less than "gas chambers", the chairman stated, "In a country where opportunities are getting enlarged this silo is turning out to be a problem...they are becoming no less than a gas chamber." He urged the members to tell the youths about the various other employment and skill opportunities available in the country.
Rahul's criticism of Budget
Earlier, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi strongly criticised the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, saying India is trapped in a 'chakravyuh' represented by the lotus symbol that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wears on his chest.
Youth have been trapped in the Agnipath scheme, with no provisions in the Budget for pension for Agniveers, he said.
He further said there's an atmosphere of fear in India, and that fear has pervaded every part of our country. Legal guarantee for MSP in the Budget would have helped farmers get out of 'chakravyuh', but the government did nothing, he added.
The Budget has stabbed the middle-class, which enthusiastically banged thalis when asked to do so by Modi when the COVID pandemic began, he said.
Dalits, tribals, backwards account for 73 per cent population, but hardly get anything from the Union Budget, he further said. The Budget has not addressed the issue of tax terrorism that has hurt small businesses hard, he noted.
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- 29 July 2024 2:36 PM IST
Will bulldozers run in Delhi, asks SP
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said the incident is tragic and there should be a thorough investigation to ascertain who is responsible for what has happened to the students.
“It's a painful incident. It's the responsibility of the officers to plan and provide NOCs, the question is who all are responsible and what actions are being taken against them. It's not just a single case of illegal building, we are seeing it in UP that illegal buildings are being bulldozed. Will this government run a bulldozer here too,” he wondered.
