Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will hold the twice-deferred ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (a dialogue with students) programme in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on August 8.

Congress leader LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. (HT file)

“UP Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam and state party president Ajay Rai along with Rahul Gandhi’s team, will review preparations for the event in Prayagraj on Sunday,” said Anshu Awasthi, spokesperson for the UP Congress.

Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to address the second edition of the Congress’s nationwide campaign against paper leaks, delays in regularising education costs, fair exams and recruitment irregularities after launching it in Kota on June 17. Originally fixed for July 10, the Prayagraj programme was rescheduled to July 19 before it was postponed again.

The party decided to defer Rahul’s visit for a second time as the issue of Ayodhya temple donation row was on its peak and expectations were high of him speaking on the issue. While the event was focused upon issues of students, hence in between, his schedule for Dehradun was made.

The decision was part of a political strategy to keep Rahul’s focus on youth-centric issues as the party prepares its narrative for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, rather than getting drawn into the ongoing controversy over alleged irregularities in donations to the Ram temple.

“Students from several districts of Purvanchal will participate in Rahul Gandhi’s event at KP Ground. Over 150,000 youths have registered for the student dialogue to discuss on issues such as education scams and employment,” claimed UP Congress president Ajay Rai.

‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ was launched from Kota in Rajasthan because it is widely known as India’s coaching hub, making it a symbolic starting point for a nationwide student outreach campaign while the UP schedule was focused on Prayagraj—a city known as a major centre for competitive exam preparation.