Panaji, Jan 18 (IANS) All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visit to Goa Tuesday and his proposed plans to address students at the Goa University (GU) campus have created controversy in the state.
The students' wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has planned a protest at the vice-chancellor office and a "surprise protest strategy" to condemn "attempts by the Congress to reduce Goa University (GU) to a political circus".
Rahul Gandhi, son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is on a countrywide tour to "gauge and understand the young minds of India", is scheduled to have a one-hour interaction with students at the Gpa University football ground Tuesday afternoon.
Calling an AICC general secretary to the university to address students of Goa violated the university's apolitical standing, Atmaram Barve, convener of the BJP's students cell, told IANS.
"A university has no place for a mainstream political leader to address students. The GU is an apolitical entity. We will gherao (surround) the GU vice-chancellor's office to condemn this obvious politicisation of Goa's only state-run university," Barve said, adding that the BJP students' wing was also planning a "surprise protest package" for Gandhi.
According to state BJP spokesperson Govind Parvatkar, the party was fully endorsing the protest planned by its youth wing. University officials have declined to comment on the issue.
Goa Pradesh Youth Congress president Sankalp Amonkar said Rahul Gandhi's meeting was open to students of all political hues. "It is an open forum for students of any affiliation. We will have one hour of interaction, during which Rahul Gandhi will pick 10 to 15 people, who can ask him any questions they want," Amonkar said.
Police sources said there was no question of changing the venue for the student interaction at such a short notice.
"The Special Protection Group (SPG) has already cleared the plan for Rahul Gandhi's visit. There's no going back now. He has Z plus protection, last-minute alterations to the schedule are not possible. The organisers should have thought about such contingencies earlier," a police officer said.
After his interaction with students, Rahul Gandhi will also address members of the Pradesh Congress Committee and Youth Congress delegates.