Riteish, Genelia ask students to help prepare Congress manifesto

Mumbai: Actor couple Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia D`Souza on Saturday asked youth and students to give suggestions that will be incorporated in the Congress party`s manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Riteish and Genelia unveiled a dedicated web portal for the purpose of preparing a "Student Manifesto", said National Students Union of India (NSUI) president Rohit Chaudhary. "The NSUI is inviting ideas and suggestions from students, academicians and public to prepare a student manifesto which will be a part of the Congress party manifesto for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections," he said. NSUI activists shall visit educational institutions across the country to collect suggestions from students. "Students must decide the fate of this country. Policy makers do not know all the problems faced by students and it is high time they should participate in policy making," Riteish said. Genelia urged students to come out and take part in preparing the manifesto. "As students, all of us have had problems", and now there is an opportunity to bring them to the fore for solutions, she said. Political leaders and analysts have attributed the outcome of the assembly elections to the voting power of the youth, students and first time voters who want a change. "As (Congress vice president) Rahul Gandhi has promised, policy making won`t be limited to 10 people in a room. Every student is invited to give ideas to reform the education system," Chaudhary said. Suggestions from students will be collected by Dec 22 and presented to the party leadership for its consideration and necessary action, said Maharashtra NSUI chief Suraj Singh Thakur.