NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani may be fighting a political battle in Amethi, but they are also competing with each other in coming to the rescue of the two poor boys in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district who have cracked the IIT entrance test.
Replying to a tweet, HRD Minister Smriti Irani said that Dharmaraj’s family had already been informed that the boys’ registration fees would be waived and that both would be eligible for scholarships covering tuition, mess and other charges. And the Akhilesh Yadav-led state government and the sanitation NGO Sulabh International have also announced financial assistance and support to the Pratapgarh brothers to pursue their IIT dreams.
Dharamraj Saroj, father of the siblings, hails from Rehua-Lalganj in Pratapgarh and is a daily-wage earner. Both the brothers, Raju Saroj, 18, and Brajesh Kumar Saroj, 19, have cleared the entrance test with 167 and 410 positions but were unable to proceed further owing to financial constraints. Banks had turned down their requests for education loans, which can be sanctioned only after they secure admission.
After the media highlighted the plight of Dharmaraj’s sons, Rahul spoke to Raju and Brijesh and congratulated them. He also told them that party’s students’ wing, the NSUI, would help them in their higher studies. “Rahulji spoke to both of us separately and congratulated us for the feat,” Raju, who wants to pursue electrical engineering or computer science, said.