VADODARA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a veiled dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign, asserting that the country’s youth would distinguish between truth and what he described as a “Jooth Ki Goonj”.
Modi made the remarks while addressing a largely youth-filled gathering in Vadodara after inaugurating development projects and laying foundation stones for works worth around Rs 35,000 crore.
Referring to attempts to allegedly mislead young people, the prime minister said, “At every nook and corner, you will find people who will try to mislead you through ‘Jooth Ki Goonj’, but today’s youth will stand with the truth.”
The Congress has launched ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ as a student outreach and dialogue campaign, with programmes being held in different cities. The initiative seeks to raise issues concerning students and young people, including alleged examination paper leaks, rising education costs, irregularities in government recruitment and unemployment, while targeting the BJP-led government.
During his address, Modi also highlighted the government’s focus on expanding energy capacity across different sources, including solar, wind, hydropower and nuclear energy.
He said the youth should equip themselves with expertise in emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, which is expected to play an increasingly important role across sectors.
“Youth of the country have to become experts in AI, and we want our youth to excel in the field,” he said.
The prime minister’s remarks came amid the Congress’s efforts to engage students and young voters through its nationwide campaign, with education, recruitment and employment emerging as key issues in its outreach.