Prayagraj

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, to address the "Chhatron Ki Goonj" programme here.

The Congress MP received a warm welcome from party leaders and workers.

The programme, scheduled for August 8 at 5 PM, comes as part of Congress' nationwide student outreach campaign, which was launched to highlight issues affecting young people and demand accountability from the government on education and employment-related concerns.

The event had earlier faced uncertainty after the management of Kayasth Pathshala (KP) College withdrew permission for the use of its sports ground, citing academic concerns and an Allahabad High Court order stressing that students' academic activities should not be disrupted. However, the cancellation of the booking was later revoked, allowing the Congress leader's public interaction programme to proceed as scheduled.

The Prayagraj programme is the next leg of Gandhi's 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' campaign, which began from Rajasthan's Kota with a 'Chhatron Ki Goonj Maha Rally'. The initiative later moved to Dehradun, where Gandhi interacted with students and families affected by alleged examination irregularities.

During the Dehradun leg of the campaign, Gandhi had interacted with the father of a student who allegedly died by suicide following the NEET paper leak controversy.

At the programme held at Bannu School Ground in Dehradun, the father urged Gandhi to raise the issue in Parliament so that no other family suffers similar pain.

Gandhi had also alleged that over the past decade, around 7.5 crore young students had suffered due to paper leaks.

"High technology is being used in India to facilitate exam paper leaks. You can find these papers on the internet, on Telegram or Signal, if you have crores of rupees. This is the state of India's education system," he had said.

He further claimed that there had been "152 paper leaks" in the last decade and alleged that the conviction rate in such cases was zero.

"There have been 152 leaks, meaning, on average, one paper leak every month for the past decade. Yet, the reality is that the conviction rate is zero. Not a single person has gone to jail or been punished in connection with these cases," Gandhi had said.

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The 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' campaign focuses on issues including examination paper leaks, coaching fees, access to education and employment opportunities. The Congress has announced that the initiative will include protests, public outreach programmes and discussions across the country, including in Parliament, with participation from its student wing NSUI and Youth Congress.

With the Prayagraj event, the party aims to expand its youth outreach campaign and put the spotlight on issues of jobs, examinations and opportunities for students.