‘Your parents could not face their fears, you have… and changed country’: Rahul Gandhi at Prayagraj meet

LIVE: Chhatron Ki Goonj | Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh https://t.co/tmhyM5xUEA

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 8, 2026

“This evening I want to speak to you about dard (pain), data, and daulat (wealth),” he said.

Youth attending “Chatron Ki Goonj” programme addressed by Rahul Gandhi in Prayagraj on saturday. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Without mentioning Jantar Mantar or Dharmendra Pradhan’s resigntion as Union Education Minister, Gandhi lauded the fact that youths had held several protests. It was a sign that young people were beginning to challenge the status quo, he said.

“…iss andhere mein aap logon ne light jala di. Aapne woh kiya jo aapke mata-pita nahin kar paye. Woh apne dar ka saamna nahin kar paye, magar Hindustan ke student aur yuvak ne dar ka saamna kiya… aur desh ko badal diya (In this darkness, you lit a light. You did what your parents could not do. They could not face their fears, but Hindustan’s youth and students did… and changed the country).”

Urging them to continue “fighting for your rights”, he said: “Mein iss mein aapke saath khada hoon, khada rahoonga (I stand with you in this fight, and I will continue to stand with you).”

One of the big protests leading up to Jantar Mantar was held at Prayagraj, with students hitting the streets on May 2 over two UP recruitment exams.

Dressed in a pink shirt unlike his usual white or black T-shirt, Gandhi told an enthusiastic crowd that said youths in India were “unparalleled”, despite all the talk about America, China and Russia. “India has the youth and the maximum data in the world. Youth plus data equals the 21st-century economy,” he said.

However, Gandhi said, while Artificial Intelligence depends on this data generated by people, and while this data belongs to the country’s youth, its economic benefits are going to large corporations. “You are told to watch as many reels as you want, send as many WhatsApp messages as you want and watch or make as many Instagram reels as you want, but this is the addiction of the 21st century,” he said.

During the Bihar Assembly elections, which the BJP won, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked about his government providing inexpensive data, and said people were making good money making reels on Instagram.

Gandhi pointed to images of industrialist Gautam Adani, PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat behind him on a screen, and said, “Data is yours, pain is yours, but wealth is theirs? This is the system.”

One aspect of the “system” was controlling people’s thinking, Gandhi added. “Har sanstha mein pracharak, bureaucracy mein pracharak, forces mein pracharak, media mein pracharak, judiciary mein pracharak, paramilitary mein pracharak, university-colleges mein pracharak… Soch ko control karne ka tareeka hai (Every organisation has an RSS person… bureaucracy, forces, media, judiciary, paramilitary, university-colleges… It is a way to control thinking).”

Gandhi also regretted that “education certificates have no meaning in India because they cannot give you a job”, with students “trapped” between expensive education, unemployment, and irregularities. “You spend money on education, work hard, but all the doors of employment are closed… There is a paper leak and some rich child buys the paper and destroys your future,” Gandhi said, adding that, correspondingly, a “decline” in manufacturing, “difficulties in securing loans”, exam paper leaks and AI replacing jobs were hurting students.

The Congress leader also called two students to the stage to share their experiences.

Emphasising his message of “mohabbat ki dukaan”, Gandhi said: “You have to open a shop of love and fight with love… There should not be hatred in the heart of even one student.”

Before Prayagraj, Gandhi held similar ‘Chaatron ki Goonj’ events at Kota and Dehradun. The Congress again kept its footprint to the minimum, with no party flags around at the meeting, to keep the focus on students.

The area around the programme venue was dotted with Gandhi’s posters, praising him as “Jan Nayak (leader of the masses)”, and carrying slogans such as “We want jobs, not pellet guns”, “Mantri ji ki badi car, desh ka yuva berozgar (Minister travels in big cars, youths remain jobless)”, and “Job nahin milega to sinhasan hilega (Give jobs or your kingdom will teeter”. Shops within roughly half a kilometre of the ground remained closed.

While the muddy ground and the slush caused many to slip and fall, students and exam aspirants said they wanted to hear what Gandhi had to say.

Several expressed anger over the police action against protesters at Jantar Mantar. “Instead of addressing our concerns, the present government is trying to harass us and use force to silence our voices,” said Shivam Singh, a Prayagraj resident preparing for competitive examinations.

Singh said he completed his postgraduation two years ago and has been preparing for government recruitment examinations since, talking about how he needs to support his family as the eldest of four siblings.

Rajesh Pal, 26, a native of Basti who stays in a rented accommodation in Prayagraj as he prepares for competitive exams, said his family has been a staunch supporter of the BJP, but were upset by the police lathicharge on students in Delhi. Rajesh added that he wanted to travel to Delhi for the protest but could not.

Awadhesh Pal, 31, said he had been living in Prayagraj, away from his home in Kaushambi, for the past six years preparing for competitive examinations. “I have appeared for several but the results of many are awaited. Several others have been cancelled because of leaks,” Awadhesh said.

All three said they had taken part in the May 29 protest in Prayagraj.

Ritesh Awasthi said he had come from Varanasi “to hear what Rahul Gandhi has to say about the problems faced by students”.

Another aspirant, Vinay Singh, 25, also from Varanasi, said: “Rahul Gandhi understands that problems are affecting students’ careers and creating uncertainty… He is one of the few leaders who appears willing to listen.”