Admin fears students’ voice, trying to block my Prayagraj event, says Rahul Gandhi

The Congress leader fired the salvo even as a political confrontation was brewing over his visit to Prayagraj. For its part, the Congress insisted that the student interaction programme, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, will go ahead despite KP Trust, a private institution, cancelling the venue booking on Wednesday

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has accused the administration of attempting to prevent his proposed interaction with students in Prayagraj on August 8, alleging that the authorities were trying to obstruct the programme because they feared students’ voices.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit on August 8. (FILE PHOTO)

The Congress leader fired the salvo as a political confrontation brewed over his visit to Prayagraj. For its part, the Congress insisted that the student interaction programme, ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, will go ahead despite KP Trust, a private institution, cancelling the venue booking on Wednesday, citing an Allahabad High Court order and possible disruption of academic activities. The proposed programme is expected to focus on student issues and youth concerns.

“Ever since I decided to visit Prayagraj to listen to the students, the administration has been trying to block my program in every possible way. It is clear—they are afraid even of the students’ resounding voice. I stand with the students. No matter how hard the government tries, it cannot stop me from raising the students’ voice,” Gandhi wrote on X on Thursday afternoon.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai, who has been camping in Prayagraj for the past two days, asserted that the programme would be held as scheduled.

He maintained that the party had obtained the necessary permission on July 30 after completing all required formalities, including the prescribed deposits.

“Rahul Gandhi will come and the event will be conducted at the venue and time decided because our children and their issues are of utmost importance. We followed protocol for permission including deposits and got the permission on July 30,” he said.

“We have decided and it is now up to the administration to take a call. They obstructed the student dialogue in Dehradun and deliberately kept the event of a singer at the same venue allotted to us. But later our programme was held and (it was) a successful one. At Prayagraj, it will be the biggest gathering of students and Rahul Gandhi will interact with them. It is not a political event,” said Rai, who went to meet local administrative officials during the day.

Rai said the administration had been informed in advance and expressed confidence that the programme would be held peacefully and as planned.

“We told the administration about our decision,” he said.

He maintained that the programme would not be a political rally and said there would be no party flags or political activities, with the focus remaining on students’ concerns.

Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to leave New Delhi at 2 pm on August 8 and reach Prayagraj by 3.15pm. He will be at Anand Bhavan till 6.15 pm and then reach KP Ground for the student dialogue, according to the programme shared by UP Congress at a press conference in Prayagraj.

Rai accused the BJP government of pursuing anti-youth policies and shielding the alleged “paper leak mafia”.

Earlier on Wednesday, in a letter issued by acting KP Trust chairman Chaudhary Jitendra Nath Singh, the trust stated that the college principal had informed it about the Allahabad High Court’s August 14, 2025 order, which stressed that academic activities should not be disrupted.

The trust said the programme could affect classes of students from two schools operating on the campus. It also cited the ongoing monsoon, stating that the playground could be damaged by the event and would require time to become usable again.

The trust asked the organisers to collect the deposited booking amount from its office and suggested that such programmes be organised during holidays or after the rainy season.

The KP Trust has not issued any statement beyond the cancellation letter.

Following the development, party leaders approached the district administration.

Ajay Rai, Allahabad MP Ujjwal Raman Singh and other senior party leaders met district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma at his camp office on Thursday to discuss arrangements for the programme.

Senior administrative and police officials, including additional deputy commissioner of police Ajay Pal Sharma, were present during the meeting. Discussions centred on the proposed venue, administrative permissions, security arrangements and law-and-order management for the event.

Congress representatives urged officials to facilitate the smooth conduct of the event, which is expected to attract a large number of students and party workers. Officials reviewed crowd management measures, security deployment and other logistical arrangements. People familiar with the matter said a final decision on the venue and permissions would be taken by the administration after examining all relevant aspects.

Haseeb Ahmed, the Congress district media spokesperson, said the party’s state president Ajay Rai met Prayagraj police commissioner Piyush Mordia to seek permission for holding the event at KP ground. “The police commissioner has asked us to get an NOC from the KP Trust which owns the ground. Chairman of the Trust Chaudhary Jitendra Nath Singh has sought time to consult his lawyer before taking a call on allowing the event in their ground,” he said.

No official of the district administration was available for comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, Siddharth Nath Singh, BJP MLA from Allahabad West and former Uttar Pradesh minister, said the issue was between a private institution and the Congress.

“Where does the government come into this? If the Congress has any written or verbal evidence that the government got Rahul Gandhi’s programme cancelled, it should produce it,” he said, according to a PTI report.