Rahul Gandhi's Bihar event to be held at venue chosen by party, says Congress

The Congress seemed ready for a showdown with the NDA government in Bihar as it declared that party leader Rahul Gandhi's interaction with students in Darbhanga town on Thursday, 15 May, will be held at the venue chosen by the party and not at the one suggested by the local administration.

The administration had on Wednesday night allowed 'Shiksha Nyay Samvad', a state-wide public outreach programme, to be held at Town Hall shortly after the party took exception to permission being 'denied' at the Ambedkar Hostel.

नेता विपक्ष श्री राहुल गांधी जी दरभंगा में 'शिक्षा न्याय संवाद' के तहत छात्रों से मिलने जा रहे थे, उनकी समस्याओं पर बात करने जा रहे थे।

लेकिन...

JDU-BJP की डरी-सहमी सरकार तानाशाही पर उतर आई है। सरकार ने अपनी पुलिस लगाकर राहुल गांधी जी को रोक लिया है।

• क्या बिहार में दलित… pic.twitter.com/Y8yNjAdbr8

— Congress (@INCIndia) May 15, 2025

Congress Legislature party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan, in a video message from Darbhanga, said, "We are waiting for the arrival of Rahul Gandhi... our preparations for the function at Ambedkar Hostel are complete. We challenge the administration to try and stop us."

In Patna, senior Congress leader Abhay Dubey told a hurriedly convened press conference, "The administration in Darbhanga is acting at the behest of the JD(U)-BJP combine. Hundreds of students coming from the adjoining districts of Madhubani and Samastipur are being prevented from entering Darbhanga. But the administration should realise that Rahul Gandhi enjoys the unlimited support of the country's deprived classes."

Dubey also ridiculed the purported claim of the Darbhanga administration that while seeking permission, the organisers had never specified that they wanted the programme to be held at Ambedkar Hostel.

He said, "Our preparations are going on at the spot for some time. Structures we built could not have come within a span of an hour... the administration is indulging in a face-saving exercise by making ridiculous claims."