Prayagraj: An upcoming event, ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’, which is supposed to be an interaction between the Leader of Opposition and Member of Parliament, Rahul Gandhi and students preparing for different competitive exams, scheduled to take place in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district on August 8, 2026, seems to have hit a bureaucratic roadblock. Citing an Allahabad high court order dated August 14, 2025, the Kayastha Pathshala Trust, which manages and is the official caretaker of KP Ground – the venue where the interaction is slated to take place at 5 pm – has revoked permission for the event scheduled on August 8.“Order by the honourable high court states that while allocating the playground [for commercial purposes], there should not be any disruption in the academic activities of students. Owing to the scheduled programme, students of two schools are likely to be affected,” states the official letter issued by Chaudhary Jitendra Nath Singh, working president of the Kayastha Pathshala. The letter which is addressed to the district president of Congress further goes on to say, “The outdoor area which is a designated sports facility ground is likely to get spoiled during the monsoon season and will be a cumbersome task to get it back in shape. Therefore the event date should be such that activities of the school are not affected in any manner. Taking into account the High Court order as well as current circumstances, the date for the programme should be shifted to a holiday after the monsoon season.”‘Some sort of pressure from the government’Speaking to The Wire, Manoj Pasi, Soraon-based Congress leader in Prayagraj who is also a member of the team looking at the management of the event on party’s behalf said, “We had receipts after due payment for the booking of the venue. There seems to be some sort of pressure from the government which is why permission has been revoked. We will go ahead with the programme as scheduled in Prayagraj.”Taking to X, on August 5, 2026, making an official announcement about the event in Prayagraj, Rahul Gandhi wrote: “In Kota, we exposed the extortion machine feeding on students’ dreams. In Dehradun, we exposed the rigged system behind paper leaks that destroy countless lives. In Prayagraj, we will expose the reality of the job crisis. The students of our country have stood up against this oppressive regime, they will no longer accept empty promises and hate-filled propaganda.”The tagline of the poster related to the event posted by Gandhi on the social media platform X stated, “Job nahin milega, toh singhasan hilega (if we don’t get a job, the throne will be shaken up).” According to Manoj Pasi, based on responses received from students who have registered for the event using the QR code, as reflected in the photo posted by Gandhi, more than 1 lakh students are expected to turn up for the interaction.‘We have already paid a fee for use of the ground space’Meanwhile, Congress party workers are going ahead with preparations of the event at the venue spot – the KP Ground in Prayagraj. Sharing a video of tents being put up at the spot and work going on full swing, Ajay Pandey Baagi, NSUI UP vice-president told The Wire, “The party’s stand is that we have already paid a fee for use of the ground space. Half our work related to putting up tents on the spot has already been done. We had received permission for the event almost a week ago. We are still going ahead with preparations for the event along with our team.”“We are trying to have a conversation with the local administration as well so as to not face such hurdles at the last minute. Rahul Gandhi is coming here only to have a dialogue with the students, this is not an election campaign. So, there is nothing for the BJP to get worried about,” NSUI leader Ajay Pandey further added.Calls to Chaudhary Jitendra Nath Singh, working president of the Kayastha Pathshala, went unanswered at the time of writing this story.Speaking to reporters in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Congress president, Ajay Rai said, “It is unfortunate that even when permission for the Chatron ki Goonj programme in Dehradun was cancelled, the same venue was allocated for an event by a pop singer. So, the BJP along with Modi and Amit Shah, are not concerned about the future of children. Similarly, we got permission for the event [in Prayagraj] on July 30 on my official letterhead, and the money was deposited on July 31. Now, on August 5, owing to the pressure from the government, permission was revoked.”“We have conveyed it to the local administration that the programme will take place as per the schedule on August 8 at 5 pm”, Rai further added.Addressing another press conference in Delhi, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Amethi, Kishori Lal Sharma told reporters, “When we already had permission, the [Kayastha Pathshala] Trust suddenly received a message and started saying the ground would be spoiled and children would be affected. These are all lame excuses. This is not in the interest of democracy. We, along with Rahul Gandhi, are standing with the students. Such theatrics, which essentially mean that even a meeting of the Leader of Opposition won’t be allowed to take place, show the extent to which democratic ideals have fallen in this country.”