PM Narendra Modi to address IIT-Bombay convocation ceremony today; student groups question govt's 'anti-student politics'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Mumbai on Saturday to take part in the IIT-Bombay convocation ceremony. Modi will deliver the convocation address at the 56th annual convocation of the institute.

After the convocation, the prime minister will inaugurate the new building of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, and Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay, the PMO said in a statement.

Leaving for Mumbai, where I will join the convocation ceremony at IIT-B. Looking forward to interacting with bright youngsters. Will also inaugurate the new building of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering as well as Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 11, 2018

Modi’s visit, however, has sparked a debate with student groups from IIT-Bombay questioning the motive behind it. On Friday, in a statement shared on social media, students of IIT-Bombay also questioned the government’s recent “anti-student politics”.

Hindustan Times reported that  in the statement, several groups of students questioned the low budget allocations to higher education, the discontinuation of the Government of India-Post Matric Scholarship (GoI-PMS) for students from reserved categories (SC, ST and OBC) in institutes like Tata Institute of Social Sciences, as well as shortcomings in the new Higher Education Committee of India (HECI) Bill.

The student groups, however, clarified that there would be no obstacles stopping the prime minister from addressing the event, or entering the campus.

According to a report in Deccan Herald , the students also raised the issue of atrocities on minority communities over the last few years, saying, “We ask how beef becomes so important an issue that living human beings are killed for it and how the murderers get perfect impunity from the state.”

They also questioned as to how the government could “so easily” decide who a citizen is and who is not, on the basis of their religious identities.

“We demand that he (Modi) as prime minister take a positive stand and condemn all the hate crimes committed and supported by his party members,” students said.

Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar, Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao and state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will also be present on the occasion.

With inputs from agencies