SHILLONG: The Union Minister for Human Resource Development on Tuesday avoided making any statement on Rajiv Gandhi’s name before that of the premier institute’s in Shillong.
“You have asked this question and I have heard it for the first time,” he said when asked if the Centre intended to remove the name of Rajiv Gandhi from Indian Institute of Management, Shillong.
It may be mentioned that IIM-Shillong is the only among the 13 institutes that has the prefix Rajiv Gandhi and this has not gone well with many.
Earlier, the BJP State Youth Wing had demanded that the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, should be renamed as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Indian Institute of Management, Shillong.
Assurance on Aadhaar relief for students
Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday that students without Aadhaar cards ‘will not have problems in availing themselves of scholarships and other benefits’.
The minister further said the Centre was promoting Aadhaar, which has a simple process of enrollment and is free of cost, because it will benefit everyone. But he clarified that Aadhaar was a unique identity card and not a citizenship card.