Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday questioned the government over the lack of hostel facilities and adequate housing support for students from rural areas, citing a question raised by a female student.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the student had moved from a village to Indore for higher studies but had to live in a paying guest accommodation because of the absence of hostel facilities. He said the cost of accommodation and concerns over safety were creating additional difficulties for students pursuing education.
“सरकार के पास दिया जलाने के लिए पैसा है – हमारे हॉस्टल के लिए क्यों नहीं?”
यह सवाल कल इंदौर में एक छात्रा ने मुझसे पूछा।
गाँव से पढ़ने शहर आई। हॉस्टल है नहीं, तो PG में रहना पड़ता है। सिर्फ़ सुरक्षित रहने में लाखों ख़र्च हो जाते हैं। हर महीने किराए की चिंता, और बेघर होने का डर – इसी में पढ़ाई करनी पड़ती है।
कई लड़कियाँ इसी वजह से पढ़ाई छोड़ देती हैं। सिर्फ़ इसलिए कि रहने की जगह नहीं है।
और आवास भत्ता? महंगाई के साथ बढ़ता नहीं, ऊपर से भ्रष्टाचार की भेंट चढ़ जाता है।@narendramodi जी – उस बच्ची के सवाल का कोई जवाब है आपके पास?
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 20, 2026
“’The government has money to light Diyas, why not for our hostels?’ This question was asked of me yesterday by a female student in Indore,” Gandhi said, recounting the student’s experience.
He further claimed that housing-related difficulties were forcing some female students to discontinue their studies and questioned the adequacy of housing allowances, alleging that they did not keep pace with inflation and were vulnerable to corruption.
“@narendramodi- Do you have any answer to that little girl’s question?” Gandhi asked.
The remarks came a day after Gandhi addressed students at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Indore, where he spoke about education-related concerns and argued that students should be able to question the existing system. Reports from the event said students raised issues linked to education, competitive examinations and other institutional challenges.
Gandhi has been conducting the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme as a student outreach initiative, with the Indore event being the fifth edition of the campaign.
