Sam Pitroda Calls for Strong National Will to Reform Education, Healthcare

Sam Pitroda, chief of the Indian Overseas Congress, said that strong political will at the national level is essential to ensure access to education and healthcare for citizens across the country.

Speaking to IANS on Thursday, Pitroda called AAP national Convenor Arvind Kejriwal's free education model "bogus".

"It is all bogus. They have no idea. No, what I'm saying is you need the political will at a national level. You can't do these things in isolation in one college here or two colleges there or in one state. Not possible," he said.

"You need a vision of a nation saying, I am going to take responsibility for education and health. As a nation, I will make sure that every kid gets almost free education."

Pitroda also mentioned the exorbitant fees charged by private schools in India.

"I mean, look at some of the little kids going to school in India, pay 10,000, 20,000 rupees a month for some ridiculous amount, you know, don't make sense at all. So I firmly believe that health and education should not be privatised to the extent we have."

The Indian Overseas Congress chief cautioned that the government cannot walk away from fulfilling its responsibility towards the citizens.

"There is a place for the private also, but you can't walk away from your responsibility. Today, we are walking away from our responsibility as a nation."

About the Muslim reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, Pitroda said: "Muslims should also be granted (reservation). Okay, but I can tell you that everybody needs help at the bottom of the pyramid."

"I'm a son of an OBC. I didn't know that. In my generation, nobody worried about it. I never knew that until, you know, I graduated from here and worked, and somebody said, 'Oh, you are OBC'. I said, 'Oh, yeah'. I think when you talk about, you know, benefits to OBC and Muslims and all, education and health should be almost free," he added.

With Inputs From IANS