KALPETTA: It was a dream lunch for the 10 students of various tribal communities of Wayanad on Monday at the forest IB inspection bungalow in Mananthavady.The students, who proved their mettle by clearing the national-level Common Law Admission Test (CLAT-2021), were invited by Wayanad MP and Congress national leader Rahul Gandhi.
“We spent almost an hour with Rahul Gandhi. He urged us to be inquisitive and said the question is more important than the answer,” said Radhika KK, second-year student at National University of Advanced Legal Studies (NUALS), Kochi. Radhika, hailing from Kattunayaka community, was the first from the community to clear CLAT.
“He asked me about the food culture of our tribes and our bonding with animals. He advised us to scale heights in the legal field,” added Radhika.
Though it was only Radhika cleared the entrance examination last year, nine students have cracked the exam this year. They cleared the test after month-long coaching provided by the Wayanad District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) with the support of Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP).
“Rahul Gandhi urged the students to use their education for the upliftment of their communities,” said ITDP district programme officer K C Cheriyan.
In the morning, Rahul unveiled Gandhiji’s statue at Mananthavady Gandhi Park and inaugurated the drinking water project at Koovalathod colony at Padinjarathara. He said Indianness was not something Gandhiji had preached but put into action himself.
“Some people want a fair country but they treat the people unfairly. They call for respecting women but disrespect women, they speak secularism but view religions differently,” he said. Rahul Gandhi will wind up his two-day visit to the constituency on Tuesday.