The Congress on 18 September 2026 accused Madhya Pradesh authorities of pressurising coaching centres and student hostels in Indore to keep young people away from Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj event scheduled for 19 September 2026. Party media and publicity chief Pawan Khera posted on X that operators were being threatened and forced to sign statements taking responsibility for the safety of students who might attend the outreach programme.
Gandhi is set to hold the event in Indore as part of his ongoing campaign, while the state police issued a security directions document that referenced the Verma Commission’s report on the 1991 assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The police said crowd control was a shared responsibility between organisers and law enforcement, and urged the party to deploy at least 1,500 volunteers, including 500 women.
Khera described the police actions as a “chain of intimidation” that began with a threat to Gandhi, extended to organisers, and now targeted coaching centres and students. He said the administration’s role is to protect, not intimidate, and that the safety of every attendee should be the government’s responsibility.
In addition to the alleged intimidation, the Congress criticised the denial of a permit to use Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the event and an extra ₹4 lakh charge for using government land at an alternate venue beyond the permitted days. A hostel owner in Bhawarkuan reported that police officers approached his establishment with a form, asking for signatures from coaching centres and hostels to monitor student attendance, and said BJP leaders were also visiting centres to discourage participation in Gandhi’s programme.
