Congress alleges conspiracy to disrupt Rahul Gandhi’s Pune event

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Saturday alleged that a conspiracy was being hatched to disrupt party MP Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Pune, and said growing anger among the country’s youth could bring political change.

Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was scheduled to hold an interactive session with female students in Pune on Saturday evening.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the event, Khera said the response to the programme had unsettled the state government.

“There is anger among the youth not only in Pune and Maharashtra but across the country, and history has shown that when the youth become angry, they bring about change,” he said.

Khera alleged that young women who raised their voices were being targeted through online trolling, comments about their clothes and attacks on their character.

“The storm of youth anger is clearly resonating in Pune. Those in power feel threatened when a young woman raises her voice,” he said.

ABVP-NSUI clash

Khera’s allegations came a day after members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) clashed at the COEP Technological University hostel campus.

ABVP members alleged that Congress workers were pressuring female students of the College of Engineering, Pune (COEP) to register for the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme.

Congress leaders, meanwhile, alleged that two female students who had spoken in support of the event were confined and threatened inside the hostel by ABVP workers.

Following the clash, police on Saturday registered a case against 50 to 60 Youth Congress workers.

Khera alleged that ABVP workers had entered the girls’ hostel and intimidated students.

“Just last night, the RSS-BJP showed its real face when the goons of ABVP barged into the COEP hostel and intimidated the girls,” he said.

He alleged that the incident was part of a wider effort to prevent women and young students from participating in public affairs.

Scholarship issue

Khera claimed that some students wanted to raise concerns over scholarships with Gandhi and alleged that this had angered the state government and ABVP.

“Students from Pune and Maharashtra had specific concerns. Funds meant for their scholarships are being diverted, and some female students wanted to raise this issue with Rahul Gandhi,” he alleged.

According to Khera, the students were subsequently identified and allegedly intimidated inside the hostel.

He also claimed that some students were forced to record apology videos following the incident.

The female students had raised the scholarship issue in a media interaction before later apologising to the college.

“These girls reached out to our volunteers saying they were under attack. Why were they threatened and forced to record such videos?” Khera said.

He further alleged that ABVP workers assaulted female students inside the hostel and attacked Youth Congress workers.

The allegations have not been independently established.

Khera raises women’s participation

Khera also linked the Pune programme to women’s education and political participation, invoking social reformer Savitribai Phule, who pioneered women’s education in Pune.

He criticised the delay in implementing the women’s reservation law, attributing it to the proposed delimitation and census exercises.

“We saw this mindset during the passage of the women's reservation bill. Even today, despite the bill being passed, its implementation is being delayed in the name of delimitation and the census,” he said.

“People in the country are talking about Viksit Bharat but how will India become developed if 50 per cent of the nation's population is prevented from participating in this journey of progress?” he asked.