Students detained for selling ‘Modi pakodas’ wearing degree robes near PM’s rally venue

Police on Tuesday detained around 12 college students for selling "Modi pakodas" wearing their degree robes near the venue of the prime minister's rally in Chandigarh.

"We took 10 to 12 students in preventive custody. However, they were released after the rally was over," Sector 34 Station House Officer Baldev Kumar said.

According to a report in NDTV, A video of the incident showed student protesters at the rally shouting "Buy pakodas made by engineers" and "BA and LLB pakodas for sale" while being pushed into an open police van. One of them, a woman sporting black-rimmed glasses and an Oxford cap, was particularly scathing in her criticism of Modi government's achievements.

"Modiji has given us new jobs through his unique pakoda employment scheme. That is why we have come to show our appreciation with pakodas. After all, there is no better way for our educated youth to make a living," she was heard saying.

The students wearing the robes were selling pakodas named after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their degrees — Engineer, BA and LLB, near the venue he was scheduled to address a rally in support of the BJP candidate Kirron Kher.

Kher is contesting against the Congress nominee and former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal for Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, which will vote on May 19.

"We are here to welcome Modi ji for giving us new employment under pakoda yojana. We want to sell pakodas at Modi's rally, so that he knows how great it is to sell pakodas for the educated youth," a woman protester said.

In January last year, Modi had asserted in a television interview that people earning ₹200 a day by selling pakodas cannot be considered unemployed.

with PTI inputs