A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA in Madhya Pradesh advice 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.
“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 July 15.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had e-inaugurated PM College of Excellence in 55 districts in the state on July 14 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.
Shakya also took an an apparent swipe at the mega plantation drive held in Indore on July 14 setting a world record of 11 lakh-plus saplings being planted in a span of 24 hours,
“People are planting trees but not interested in watering them,” he said.
Shakya is not new to controversies. An RSS worker, Shakya was picked as BJP candidate from Guna seat in 2023 assembly polls over supporters of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. He had urged the party to ‘not give tickets to bikau (sold) leaders”, and to choose ‘tikau (loyal)’ leaders.
Shakya shot to prominence in 2017 when he claimed that cricketer Virat Kohli was not patriotic as he did not marry in India. Kohli married Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma in Italy.
In 2018, he had sparked another controversy when he said that crimes against women were rising in MP because ‘girls had boyfriends.’
