Rahul Gandhi alleges RSS institutional takeover of Indian Statistical Institute
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New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday alleged that the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is “gradually being taken over institutionally” by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), claiming that educational institutions should be led by knowledge and science, not ideology.
In a post on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi shared a video from his recent interaction with ISI students at his Parliament office during the Winter Session, as part of his ongoing “Jan Sansad” initiative.
“I met with students from the Indian Statistical Institute at the ‘Jan Sansad’. They reiterated the same serious concerns that students and teachers from other educational institutions across the country have been consistently raising. The students explained that the ISI is gradually being taken over institutionally by the RSS,” Gandhi said.
He emphasised the crucial role of the ISI, calling it “not just any ordinary institution — it conducts high-level research in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Computer Science and policy-making,” which has produced “world-class experts for the country.”
Gandhi alleged that academic councils, which should be guided by academicians, are now under bureaucratic and ideological pressure. He further claimed that curricula and research activities are being influenced by RSS ideology.
“This is not educational reform, but a conspiracy to weaken education and institutions — so that the future of young people can be pushed into darkness, and these institutions can be privatised or their assets sold off,” he said, adding that such interference threatens intellectual freedom, scientific thinking, and the future of young Indians.
Education needs freedom. Institutions must be run by knowledge and science, not by any ideology, Gandhi asserted.
(Inputs from PTI)