Congress to expand outreach to students, Ram Temple Trust protests

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) said on Wednesday it would double down on the party’s outreach to students by extending Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi ’s “ Chhatron ki Goonj ” programme to 800 towns, launch a grassroots agitation against alleged donation theft at the Ram Mandir and resolved not to sing the full version of the national song Vande Mataram at party events.

Following a four-hour-long meeting of the party’s apex top executive body, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said paper leaks and students’ issues are the party’s top priority. HT on August 18 had reported that CWC would chart an expansion plan of Chhatron ki Goonj (Voice of Students).

The move comes in the backdrop of the Congress launching an intense protest against the government in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament over the use of force against protesting students in New Delhi on July 20. The students’ protest, headed by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), came in the wake of allegations of irregularities, including paper leak, in the NEET-UG 2026.

“Number one issue is paper leak. The agitation of students and the way in which the government reacted to it made it clear that the government was on the back foot. We have decided that LoP Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron ki Goonj and his direct involvement of agitation, especially the surgical strike on PM’s house, created a big impact. The CWC decided that we will continue Chhatron ki Goonj in around 800 cities small and medium cities. Rahul Gandhi will attend some of these programmes,” Venugopal said.

Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies.