The coaching city of Kota has turned into the newest battleground of Rajasthan politics, and at the heart of it lies the NEET paper leak issue. Centred on that very controversy, Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is set to arrive in Kota on 17 June. He will hold a direct conversation with coaching students at the city's Dussehra Maidan in the evening and hear their views on the NEET paper leak episode.
This time Rahul Gandhi is travelling to Kota by train. Along the way, he plans to stop at several stations and interact with young people before reaching the city. It is clear that the entire visit has been built around youth and their careers. All the senior leaders of the Rajasthan Congress are expected to be present at the event. The trip has stirred up state politics, with the BJP raising questions over its timing while a poster war has already broken out across the city.
Congress Ramps Up Preparations
In Kota, the constituency of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and a region long regarded as a BJP stronghold, the Congress has gone into overdrive to organise Rahul Gandhi's outreach. State Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra held a meeting at the Congress office on Tuesday to review the arrangements. Former minister Shanti Dhariwal and several other state Congress leaders attended the meeting.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Dotasra said the party would seek answers from the central government on the NEET paper leak. He stressed that the campaign beginning from Kota would be carried to every corner of the country. Dotasra claimed that irregularities in competitive examinations and issues affecting the youth would be raised at the national level.
BJP Protests Holding Mirrors
On the other side, the BJP has been steadily opposing Rahul Gandhi's Kota visit. Party workers staged a protest today holding mirrors in their hands and reminded the Congress of the 19 paper leaks that occurred during its rule. The BJP workers argued that Rahul Gandhi should first look at the state of affairs under his own party's government before objecting to anyone else. Their point was that the central government had already decided to re-conduct the examination after irregularities surfaced in NEET.
The demonstration was held beneath the statue of Rajiv Gandhi, where a complaint against Rahul Gandhi was also pasted on the statue. The BJP alleged that Rahul Gandhi's visit to Kota would do nothing other than disturb the results of coaching students.
Questions Over the Timing
The timing of Rahul Gandhi's visit is drawing pointed criticism. The NEET examination is scheduled to be held again on 21 June, and Rahul Gandhi is arriving to speak with students just four days before that. This is exactly why opponents are questioning the choice of date.
Hiralal Nagar, Energy Minister in the Bhajanlal government and MLA from Kota's Sangod assembly seat, said Kota is a city that delivers outstanding results. He alleged that by talking to students at the wrong moment, Rahul Gandhi would waste their valuable time and harm them, spoiling the children's results. Nagar said the central government had taken a major decision on the NEET examination and was now re-conducting it. Taking a swipe, he added that those under whose rule more than 19 paper leaks took place have no right to protest.
