AHMEDABAD: As PM Modi gears up for a high-profile visit to Gujarat on March 31, a government directive mobilising students and teachers for his Sanand event has triggered a sharp political clash, with the Congress alleging “forced crowd-building” while flagging deep vacancies in technical education.
With the countdown to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s one-day Gujarat visit tightening, the focus has swiftly shifted from development inaugurations in Sanand to a brewing political storm over how the crowd is being assembled and at what cost to education.
At the centre of the controversy lies a circular issued by the Technical Education Commissioner, which directs government polytechnic and engineering colleges across the state to send students and faculty to attend the Prime Minister’s programme. What begins as logistical planning quickly spirals into a political flashpoint, as opposition voices question both the intent and the timing of such orders.
The Congress has seized on the directive, turning it into a broader indictment of the state’s education priorities.
In a sharply worded reaction, the party questioned the Commissioner’s approach, framing it as misplaced urgency. “Sir, when it comes to projecting popularity, students are ordered to be present in large numbers,” the Congress said in a pointed news-style response.
“But when seats in the same institutions have remained vacant for years, why has there been no similar urgency to fill them? If attendance can be enforced, why can’t accountability be ensured?”
The issue deepens as details emerge from across institutions where colleges have reportedly been instructed to send anywhere between 100 to 250 students each, alongside teaching staff. What appears as a coordinated mobilisation effort is being portrayed by the opposition as an administrative overreach that risks disrupting academic schedules.
The Congress argues that this is not an isolated instance but part of a recurring pattern whenever high-profile political events take place in the state. The criticism gains sharper political teeth with remarks from Manish Doshi, who escalated the attack by linking the directive to systemic neglect in technical education.
“Whenever the Prime Minister visits Gujarat or a major BJP event is held, students,teachers and professors are routinely mobilised from schools and colleges to gather crowds,” Congress Spokes Person Manish Doshi said, expanding the scope of the allegation. “This time, instructions have gone out to 16 government engineering colleges and 26 government polytechnic colleges, with fixed quotas 100 to 250 students per institution ensuring the numbers are met in advance.”
From there, the criticism pivots sharply to infrastructure gaps, drawing a contrast between political mobilisation and academic neglect.
“This order to assemble crowds reflects a deeper crisis,” Doshi added.
“On one hand, 54% to 64% of seats in government polytechnics and diploma colleges remain vacant for years. On the other, 64% to 74% of Class 3 and 4 staff positions are unfilled. Without lab assistants, librarians or essential support staff, how are students expected to gain practical knowledge?”
The Congress frames this as a “systemic contradiction” where administrative machinery is swift in organising attendance for political optics but slow in addressing foundational gaps in education. As the March 31 Programme approaches, the controversy underscores a larger political narrative where development optics, institutional autonomy, and educational deficits collide, turning a routine PM visit into a battleground over governance priorities in Gujarat.