‘Open puncture repair shops’: Lawmaker’s advice to students

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh advised students to open “motorcycle puncture repair shops” since there is nothing to gain by obtaining academic degrees. The legislator, Pannalal Shakya, was speaking during an event to inaugurate a ‘PM College of Excellence’ in his Guna assembly constituency of Madhya Pradesh, writes Gulam Jeelani for Livemint.

“We are opening a PM College of Excellence today. I appeal to everyone to keep one sentence (bodh vakya) in mind that nothing is going to happen with these college degrees. Instead, open a motorcycle puncture repair shop to at least earn a livelihood,” Shakya was quoted by news agency PTI as saying at the event on 15 July.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had e-inaugurated a PM College of Excellence in 55 districts in the state on 14 July at a function held in Indore, with separate events held in the respective districts, including Guna. The comments evoked responses from Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh who took a swipe at the BJP over the remarks by the party MLA. “We must credit the BJP for the top-class discipline in their economic messaging. The self-anointed divinity talks about the virtues of selling ‘pakodas’ as an antidote to unemployment, and their MLAs dismiss college degrees as ‘useless’ and urge students to open puncture shops,” Ramesh said on X.
Full report on the Livemint site