Sonia Gandhi urges free education at Navodaya Vidhyalayas

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free education at Navodhya Vidhyalays to children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gandhi's letter to Modi comes ahead of the 30th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21. She asserted, 'my husband Rajiv Gandhi's most significant legacies is the network of Navodaya Vidyalayas.'

New Delhi:Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to provide free education at Navodaya Vidhyalayas to those children who've lost either both or the earning parent on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes in the wake of the 30th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21.

Sonia Gandhi writes to PM

In her letter, Sonia Gandhi stated, "Amidst the devastation caused by the pandemic and the heart-wrenching tragedies being faced by affected families, news of young children losing one or both parents to COVID-19 are the most poignant. These children are left with the trauma of loss and no support towards a stable education or future."

She asserted, "One of my husband Rajiv Gandhi's most significant legacies is the network of Navodaya Vidyalayas. It was his dream to make high-quality modern education accessible and affordable to talented youth, predominantly from rural areas. There are now, as you know, 661 such schools across the country."

Read:PM Modi warns states against laxity, says Coronavirus a challenge even on minor scale

She requested PM Modi to consider providing free education at the Navodaya Vidhyalayas to children who have lost either both parents or an earning parent due to Covid-19.

She added, "I feel that as a nation, we owe it to them to give them hope for a robust future after the unimaginable tragedy that has befallen them."

Congress has decided to mark the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary by providing aid to the people amid Covid crisis. This would include the distribution of food in the hospitals, observing a mask awareness programme, distribution of medicines, helping people to register in vaccination programme and others.

Read:Covid: TN minister to bear funeral expenses of unclaimed bodies