Rahul also posted a video asking “Modi ji, are you rattled?”, over the venue-change row with the BJP government.
The campaign Rahul is running Rahul Gandhi launched ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Echoing Voice of Students) from Kota on June 17.
Gandhi's first reported engagement upon return was a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal on July 14 evening, reportedly on issues in the party's Punjab unit.
Not far away from there, Wangchuk's fast continued, under the banner of the CJP protest that began on June 28 over the same paper-leak and NEET-related grievances.
BJP president Nitin Nabin has attacked “virus and cockroach-like parties… [that] want to divide the country”.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has not visited activist Sonam Wangchuk who's on hunger strike at the Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar for almost three weeks now, and that absence has become its own story — drawing jibes from Wangchuk himself, then a lengthy defence from a Congress leader, plus a shot at some perspective by CJP's founder on X. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi speaks in a video message regarding the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' series of rallies. (Video grab: X/@RahulGandhi) Amid the chatter, the Congress leader's actual itinerary points elsewhere, towards the next event of his own campaign on the same issues, also demanding Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over paper leaks and exam-related irregularities. A month after its launch in Rajasthan's Kota, Rahul's event series ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ will see its next show in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on July 17, at a venue changed at short notice after the state administration withdrew its earlier clearance. Rahul also posted a video asking “Modi ji, are you rattled?”, over the venue-change row with the BJP government. Speaking in Hindi, he said: “Narendra Modi has taken a decision, that in the next 4-5 days, he wants to divert [public] attention by doing something or the other. You should not let him divert your attention. Unemployment is the biggest issue… future of 2 crore youths has been ruined.”
Uttarakhand Congress unit president Ganesh Godiyal confirmed on Wednesday that the Dehradun event, originally planned for Parade Ground, will now be held at Bannu School ground. He told reporters that the party had deposited fees and secured permission for July 15, 16 and 17, only for the administration to cancel it citing the extension of another event at the ground. The state and Centre's ruling BJP accused Congress of playing a “false victim card” over the dispute. The campaign Rahul is running Rahul Gandhi launched ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Echoing Voice of Students) from Kota on June 17. Three follow-up events — Prayagraj, Patna and Delhi — were deferred after he reportedly extended a foreign trip. The BJP took digs at it, even implying a “foreign conspiracy”. Gandhi's first reported engagement upon return was a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal on July 14 evening, reportedly on issues in the party's Punjab unit. Not far away from there, Wangchuk's fast continued, under the banner of the CJP protest that began on June 28 over the same paper-leak and NEET-related grievances. Wangchuk has refused to end the fast, despite being in “immense pain”, with his weight loss now past 8 kg. Dipke reframes the question CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, in a post on X on Wednesday morning, pushed back on the “where is Rahul” narrative altogether. Rather than asking why Opposition leaders or CJP's own team members weren't fasting alongside Wangchuk, he said, “ask the questions that actually matter”. “Why is the Prime Minister refusing to engage in a dialogue? Why is the Education Minister still not being held accountable? These are the questions that deserve answers, not distractions that only help shield those in power from accountability,” he wrote on X. The government’s response has been dismissive at best, while Pradhan has branded the CJP “B-team of terrorists”. BJP president Nitin Nabin has attacked “virus and cockroach-like parties… [that] want to divide the country”.
Abhijeet Dipke clearing the way, activist Sonam Wangchuk walks with help on the 18th day of his hunger strike during the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Rahul Singh/ANI Photo)
