Row erupts over revocation of permission for Rahul Gandhi’s student event in UP; Cong cries foul

NEW DELHI: The withdrawal of permission for Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ event, slated to be held in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, has snowballed into a major controversy with many Congress leaders calling out “shameful” conduct, allegedly at the behest of the BJP government in the state.

Rahul Gandhi was set to address a gathering of students at KP Ground on August 8, but the venue permission has been revoked just two days before the scheduled address. The Kayastha Pathshala Trust, which owns the KP Ground, cancelled the permission citing ‘unsafe conditions’ in light of incessant rains and also a court order.

However, a string of Congress leaders cried foul over the abrupt cancellation of the venue, accusing the BJP of crushing dissent and throttling democracy.

UP Congress chief Ajay Rai saw a “BJP design” in disrupting Rahul’s ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ events across the country and claimed that the ruling dispensation was making futile attempts to block the LoP's dialogue with students.

“First Kota (Rajasthan), then Dehradun (Uttarakhand), and now Prayagraj - the BJP government is making futile attempts everywhere to stop this historic dialogue between the youth and Rahul Gandhi,” he said on X.

He asserted that the programme will go on in Prayagraj and also made a fervent appeal to students and examination aspirants to reach the city on the day.

Many Congress MPs and leaders reacted to the cancellation of permission for Rahul's much-publicised students' event venue, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra telling scribes in a one-liner, “Don't know what they are afraid of”.

Congress MP Vivek Tankha, speaking to scribes on Parliament premises, said, "This amounts to throttling democracy” and questioned the government’s approach in upholding democratic values.

Another Congress MP, Imran Pratapgarhi, called out the “shameful” conduct and slammed the administration over attempts to stop students' engagement.

"What could be more shameful than this? You are afraid of a students' programme. You are unwilling to engage with students yourselves, and when the Leader of Opposition goes to interact with them, you cancel the permission for the programme," he said.

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Hassan called the move “unconstitutional”, saying, “In a democracy, everyone has the right to go anywhere, and preventing someone from doing so only reflects the weakness of the government."