New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the BJP-RSS combine is conspiring to weaken education and institutions, stressing that education needs freedom while institutions will be run by knowledge and science, not by ideology.

In a post on Facebook, Gandhi said he met with students of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Jan Sansad recently who 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 alleged.

He said the ISI is not just any ordinary institution but it conducts high-level research in Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Data Science, Computer Science and policy-making, and has produced world-class experts for the country.

"The Academic Councils, which should be run by academicians, are now facing bureaucratic and ideological interference. The syllabus and research are also being controlled by the 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," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

"This attack is not just on institutions but on the country's intellectual freedom, scientific temperament and the future of its youth. We will not let this happen. Education needs freedom -- institutions will be run by knowledge and science, not by ideology," Gandhi said in his post.

In another post on Facebook, he said he had met weavers from Bhadohi who raised concerns about the ground realities they are facing in the wake of tariffs imposed by the United States.

"I had already said -- 'Trump's tariffs are going to become an economic storm, which will hurt millions of people' -- but Narendra Modi is sitting quietly. Today, the weavers of Bhadohi are telling the ground truth of the same warning," he said after meeting the weavers of Bhadohi recently at Jan Sansad.

The weavers also presented a carpet woven by them to Gandhi, which showed their skills, hard work and centuries-old art.

He said that Bhadohi, who was once called 'Carpet City', is now a victim of defamation.

He said the anti-India tariff policy of the United States has had a terrible effect on many industries of the country, and the carpet trade of Bhadohi has been almost destroyed by it. Unfortunately, the government has taken no concrete steps, neither by foreign policy nor from any national plan, to handle or revive this industry, he added.

"The result is that exports have been steadily declining and trade has been shifting towards countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal," Gandhi said.

He said this is all the truth of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency (Varanasi) where weavers are claiming that they are facing devastation "because Modi has blinded his eyes to their suffering".

"This centuries-old art, which is the basis of their trade, the identity of India and the livelihood of millions, is today a victim of exploitation and government neglect. Conditions are so bad that these hard working families do not even have access to affordable and accessible health facilities.

"These are the small industries and small businesses I keep talking about -- the ones that create jobs, strengthen the economy and move the country forward," the Congress leader said.

He said now it is necessary that power be returned to the hands of these people through policies and financial cooperation, so that these artisans can brighten the name of India again and strengthen the country's economy. PTI SKC KSS KSS

Education under ideological control alleged to threaten institutional autonomy and academic freedom nationwide and require policy response. Rahul Gandhi alleges BJP-RSS institutional takeover efforts at the Indian Statistical Institute, asserting bureaucratic and ideological interference in academic councils, syllabus, and research that threaten academic freedom and institutional autonomy and may lead to privatisation or asset disposals.