Indore, Sep 15 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday claimed nearly 2 lakh students have registered for its September 19 ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in Indore, to be addressed by Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi, and the party has been allotted a plot of land in front of a park for Rs 10 lakh fee for the programme.
Amidst a political war of words, a Madhya Pradesh government body on Tuesday allocated 12,000 square meters of land on a temporary lease for the Opposition party’s student outreach programme, whose fifth edition is being held in the state’s commercial capital, an official said.
According to a letter issued by the Indore Development Authority (IDA), the land located opposite the Regional Park has been made available for the event from September 17 to 19.
In the letter, the IDA clarified the organisers must make their own necessary security arrangements at the venue and obtain the required permissions for the event from the departments concerned.
The Congress earlier deposited Rs 10.08 lakh with the IDA for the three-day temporary lease of the ground for its ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ (Voice of Students) event to be addressed by Gandhi.
Mukesh Nayak, head of the state Congress committee’s media department, alleged that the local administration had been creating hurdles from the very beginning regarding the approval for the Leader of the Opposition’s event, acting at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“We somehow managed to get approval for the land for this event. Have you ever heard of a fee of Rs 10 lakh being charged for allocating land for a leader’s event in Indore?” he asked reporters.
Nayak claimed approximately 2 lakh students have registered for the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event.
Meanwhile, State Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya categorically rejected the Congress’s allegations over the land allotment.
Vijayvargiya insisted the decision to approve or deny permission for events rests with the administration and the BJP has nothing to do with it.
The Congress had initially sought permission to hold Gandhi’s event at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on September 12, but Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, citing a Madhya Pradesh High Court order, maintained the stadium could only be allotted for sports activities or state-level government events.
Subsequently, the Congress rescheduled the event to September 19 and applied for the use of a plot of land located opposite the Regional Park.
‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ is a student outreach campaign launched by Gandhi, through which the former Congress president is attempting to corner the ruling BJP on issues such as question paper leaks, the high cost of education, irregularities in government recruitment, and unemployment.
So far, four editions of the event have been held under Gandhi’s leadership in Kota, Dehradun, Prayagraj, and Pune.
