New Delhi: Less than a month after the Congress announced its nationwide student outreach campaign, with the promise of a series of protests and public meetings against alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment, the drive is losing steam with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi travelling abroad, forcing its deferment.
The Congress had unveiled the campaign called ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ on 17 June with considerable fanfare, positioning it as a nationwide movement to highlight the issues of examination paper leaks, unemployment, and what it described as the Centre’s failure to safeguard the interests of students and young job seekers.
According to the campaign schedule released by the party, rallies were slated to be held in Prayagraj (Allahabad) on 10 July, Patna on 11 July and Delhi on 14 July, before the next major mobilisation in Dehradun. However, they had to be deferred as Gandhi has extended his foreign trip and is expected to return only around 17 July. The rallies scheduled during his absence have been deferred, with no revised dates announced so far.
The Congress has not officially disclosed the purpose of Gandhi’s foreign visit.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya had questioned Gandhi’s absence in an X post on 23 June. “Rahul Gandhi has gone abroad. Again. At a time when Parliament, party organisation, and public life demand constant engagement, his repeated departures raise an obvious question: what is so compelling that it keeps taking precedence over his responsibilities in India? One wonders,” he had written.
In May, Malviya had alleged that Gandhi had undertaken “at least 54 traceable foreign trips” during his 22 years in elected office, estimating the cost of those visits at around Rs 60 crore and questioning how they were financed. The Congress has previously dismissed such allegations as politically motivated.
In 2015, Gandhi took a nearly two-month sabbatical abroad, missing a significant part of Parliament’s Budget Session and the debate on the contentious Land Acquisition Bill.
In December 2020, he travelled overseas as the Congress stepped up its campaign in support of the farmers’ protest.
In October 2024, his visit to Chile during the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly election campaign also became a political flashpoint, while in September 2025, he skipped the swearing-in ceremony of Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan, with the BJP alleging he was on a foreign visit at the time.
The Congress had billed ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ as more than just another political campaign. Announcing the initiative, the party described it as “a nationwide call for justice” and urged students across the country to unite in demanding an education system that rewards hard work, protects merit, ensures transparency and restores public trust.
As part of the campaign, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) organised demonstrations across several states, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated setbacks in the education sector. Protest programmes were held in several states following the campaign’s launch.
However, on the ground, the mobilisation has been limited. Since the campaign was announced, only one major public rally featuring Rahul Gandhi has taken place—in Kota, Rajasthan. The remaining rallies announced by the party have now been deferred, raising questions over the pace of a campaign that was projected as a nationwide movement.
The slowdown comes even as protests over alleged examination irregularities continue outside the Congress fold.
Educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is backing the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, said his health had “stabilised” as he entered the 13th day of his indefinite fast. The CJP’s protest, which entered its 21st day, is demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and greater government accountability over alleged irregularities in examinations.
Wangchuk has also announced a march to Parliament on 20 July, coinciding with the beginning of the Monsoon Session. So far, there has been no official response from the Union government to the protest. The Congress has also not issued a statement on the protest or on Wangchuk’s hunger strike.
The Congress is yet to indicate when the deferred rallies will be re-scheduled. Party sources also said that even leaders within the party were unaware of Rahul Gandhi’s whereabouts.
Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai said there was nothing unusual about a leader travelling abroad, but added that the absence of official information about Rahul Gandhi’s visit had created room for political speculation.
“There is nothing wrong with Rahul Gandhi travelling abroad. But as the Leader of the Opposition, people should know where he is, even if he is simply watching a football match. The lack of information gives the BJP ammunition to attack him because it creates the impression that he is missing. Wherever Rahul Gandhi goes—whether it is Nicobar or anywhere else—that place attracts attention. At the moment, however, no one knows where he is, and that naturally leads to speculation. A lot of unnecessary controversy could have been avoided if there had been some clarity,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Archishman Ganguly)
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