Kanhaiya predicts ‘social revolution’ in India

Pune, April 24 (IANS) JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Sunday predicted a "social revolution" in the country when hunger and deprivation will unite the masses irrespective of their caste, creed or religion.

Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second consecutive day during his two-day visit to Maharashtra, Kanhaiya Kumar said the Bharatiya Janata Party was attempting to divide the country along caste-communal lines without solving the core issues.

"Hunger is common to all. Where are the promised jobs, food and water for the masses? This hunger will unite the people one day and they will march on the streets," Kanhaiya Kumar said at a rally in Pune.

Dwelling on a wide range of issues confronting the country, the Jawaharhal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) president posed questions about the Modi government "squandering" public resources for giving huge media ads, his radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat' and television publicity.

"First it was their own 'Mata' (mother), then 'gaumata' (cow), and now it is 'Bharat Mata'. They want to decide what the people will eat, what festivals they will celebrate, what they can wear. Who gave you this right," he asked.

"Stop giving these 'jumlas' (false promises) to the people. They want jobs or unemployment allowance, social security, and complete abolition of caste system in the country, as B.R. Ambedkar envisioned," he said.

Kanhaiya Kumar -- who claimed that an attempt was made on his life aboard a Jet Airways flight on Sunday morning -- addressed a huge gathering of Leftists, youths and Dalits, besides several prominent personalities at a packed Bal Gandharva Hall and a teeming crowd of avid listeners outside the hall and on the adjacent roads.