Keeping distance, reaping reward: How Rahul turned student anger into political win for Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress appears to have found a political sweet spot—championing the students' cause while carefully avoiding any formal association with the CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar. That calibrated strategy has strengthened its demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation while giving the party fresh political momentum.

At the centre of the campaign has been Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, whose series of unconventional protests injected fresh energy into the Opposition's attack on the government. From leading a surprise march towards the Prime Minister's residence to observing a fast with Opposition MPs at the site where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, Rahul kept the spotlight firmly on the students' issue and rallied support across Opposition ranks.

The campaign gathered pace after the All India Congress Committee (AICC) decided to turn the alleged NEET question paper leak into a nationwide issue. Rahul's interactions with students in Kota, Rajasthan, and Dehradun, Uttarakhand, drew considerable attention. Even as the Congress aggressively pursued the issue, it consciously kept its distance from the CJP-led agitation at Jantar Mantar. Senior leader Pawan Khera visited CJP leader Abhijit Deepke at the protest venue, but the party stopped short of extending formal support, reinforcing its effort to project the movement as a broader fight for students rather than one aligned with a particular organisation.

Perhaps the boldest move came when Congress MPs, assembled under the pretext of celebrating party president Mallikarjun Kharge's birthday, suddenly marched towards the Prime Minister's residence. The surprise protest disrupted what the party portrayed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's usual strategy of ignoring demonstrations and, in the process, exposed what Congress described as a major intelligence lapse. That MPs were able to reach one of the country's most heavily guarded zones underscored the secrecy with which the protest had been planned.

Already stretched by the student agitation at Jantar Mantar, the Delhi Police suddenly found itself confronting an entirely different protest outside the Prime Minister's residence. The subsequent police action became another flashpoint, prompting Congress to stage protests across the country.

Without explicitly invoking the CJP, Rahul Gandhi continued to frame the campaign as a fight for students. At a recent press conference at the AICC headquarters, he reiterated that Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation was inevitable. In the days that followed, Rahul addressed a series of street-side press conferences alongside a student injured by pellet fire and women students hurt in the lathi-charge, imagery that helped reinforce Congress' narrative and added political weight to its campaign against the Union Education Minister.