Pune: State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Thursday said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement about Rahul Gandhi’s “Chhatron ki Goonj” event in the city exposed his desperation because he was losing his ground.Rahul will interact with girl students in Pune on Saturday as a part of Congress’s “Chhatron ki Goonj” initiative. “He has been speaking about the issues pertaining to education, employment and paper leaks. Students are supporting him. Seeing the response to our party, the chief minister realised that he was losing ground and therefore, out of desperation, he criticised our initiative,” Sapkal said.Earlier, Fadnavis said in Nagpur students from educational institutes run by Congress members would be brought for Rahul’s event. “’I am told orders have been issued that only girl students from Congress-run educational institutions in and around Pune are to be registered for the event. The meeting will take place in a controlled environment and efforts are on to ensure that only those who believe in the ideology are to be given entry. Under such circumstances, I would like to say it will be only a monologue. There would have been a dialogue with students had it been an open event,” said Fadnavis.Countering Fadnavis, Sapkal said the event was open for all. He said, “The girls who wish to participate in the event are registering online. They will enter the venue after getting the barcodes scanned.”Sapkal said, “Recently an event was organised where scripted interaction of Gen-Z was held with RSS chief, but ours is an event open for all. People from the right wing can also participate in it.”After visiting Kota, Dehradun and Prayagraj, Rahul will hold an interaction with students at AISSMS college ground in Pune on Saturday evening. Congress claimed that the initiative was getting a huge response from the younger generation.Sapkal questions bail to Dabholkar murder convictsOn the 13th death anniversary of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “The bail to the convicted murderers (Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar) in Dabholkar case raises a big question mark on the judiciary. Even if my criticism attracts contempt, I protest the decision.”(With inputs from Clara Lewis in Mumbai)He said, “Court granting bail to such convicts sends a message that those attacking the progressive ideology will not face any action. Govt should immediately approach the Supreme Court against the high court verdict and ensure that the convicted people are sent behind bars again.”
