Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 19: Thirty-five years after the assassination of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in a suicidal bomb explosion at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991, the Madhya Pradesh police has raised the report of the Verma Commission, which was tasked with probing the security lapses leading to the tragic event, on the responsibilities of the organisers of such public events to impose series of restrictions on the Congress in organising “Chhatron ki Goonj” of Rahul Gandhi with the students in Indore on Saturday.
Besides that the coaching classes and the students’ hostels have also been told to accept responsibilities for the safety of their wards going to Rahul Gandhi’s event, the Congress has also alleged that the BJP had also put up posters with “Jhooth Ki Goonj” across the city to dissuade youths and students from attending the Rahul Gandhi meet.
While the move has evoked war of words between the Congress and the BJP with the opposition party terming the posters a ploy by the BJP to create obstacles for the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event in the city, the ruling BJP countered that students themselves had launched the campaign to express outrage over being coerced into attending the programme.
Several coaching centres and students’ hostel operators in Indore have been asked to sign a “Self Certificate for the Safety” if their students participate in Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme adding a new layer to the security arrangements for the event.
The undertaking required the operator to acknowledge that if students associated with the coaching centre or hostel attend the programme and face any health or safety-related problem, accident or other untoward incident, responsibility would rest with the participating students and the operator.
The development has come a day after the Madhya Pradesh police issued a security directive stating that organisers of the Chhatron Ki Goonj event would share joint responsibility with police for crowd control and entry-exit points at the venue, citing the Verma Commission report on Rajiv Gandhi’s 1991 assassination.
Hitting out at the ruling party, the Congress’s city unit president Chintu Chouksey said, “The BJP, which always lies, has put up ‘Jhooth Ki Goonj’ posters across the city.” The BJP had ensured every possible obstacle was created at its behest to disrupt the organisation of Gandhi’s programme, he claimed, asserting that the Congress was holding the programme despite these hurdles. Local Congress leaders and functionaries were seen removing the posters from different locations in the city.
BJP state co-media in-charge Alok Dubey rejected the Congress’s allegations, claiming that youngsters and students in the city were being pressured to attend Gandhi’s programme, and because of this, they had themselves launched the ‘Jhooth Ki Goonj’ campaign. He said these posters represent what students feel and carry a clear message that Gandhi lies.
The Congress had initially sought permission to hold the programme at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the city on September 12, but was denied permission after the civic authorities stated that the stadium could be allotted only for sports or government events as per a Madhya Pradesh High Court order.
The Opposition party then postponed the programme to September 19 and applied for a venue opposite Regional Park. It deposited Rs 10.08 lakh with the Indore Development Authority (IDA) for a three-day temporary lease of around 12,000 square metres of land.
The Congress media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera took to X to allege that coaching centre operators were being “threatened and being forced to sign statements” to take responsibility for the safety of students attending Mr Gandhi’s outreach programme.
Mr Khera also slammed the Madhya Pradesh Police for making a reference to the Verma Commission’s report, on the assassination of his father in its security directions. The M.P. Congress said police have stressed that crowd control is a shared responsibility of the organisers and police, while asking the party to deploy at least 1,500 volunteers, including 500 women.
“The Madhya Pradesh Police has crossed all limits of shamelessness. First, an attempt was made to intimidate Rahul Gandhi ji by referencing the tragic assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ji, ahead of the Goonj program for students in Indore. Now, coaching centres are being threatened — they are being forced to sign statements stating that the responsibility for safety of students attending the program will be theirs,” Mr Khera said, while sharing a purported copy of one such declaration form.
Mr Khera added, “This is not security; it is a complete chain of intimidation: first threaten Rahul Gandhi ji, then the organisers, and now the coaching centres and students — and call it security. Ensuring the safety of every individual at any public event is the administration’s responsibility, whether they are a special guest or an ordinary person. A government that intimidates people instead of protecting them is announcing its own failure.”
While referring to Verma Commission’s report on Rajiv Gandhi Assassination, the MP police handed over a series of conditions for granting permission to his son’s event. The conditions were handed over to Congress city president Chintu Chouksey along with permission for the event. The police have sought detailed information about the expected crowd, including the number of men and women, the districts, tehsils and colleges from which participants would arrive, and the number travelling by buses, private vehicles and trains.
The organisers have also been asked to provide details of the vehicles, including registration numbers, drivers’ names and mobile numbers, as well as their proposed routes, arrival times and parking arrangements. Under conditions, the venue has to be divided into sectors accommodating no more than 2,000 people each, with sector in-charges and adequate gangways. A 25-30-foot clear area has to be maintained in front of the stage, while a six-metre-wide emergency corridor is to remain unobstructed.
The police have mandated six entry gates and eight exit gates, each at least six metres wide, along with 20 door-frame metal detectors and 30-40 hand-held metal detectors for security checks. Separate frisking arrangements for women and adequate female security personnel have also been prescribed.
The Congress M.P. unit president Jitu Patwari slammed the BJP Government over the issue and said Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination had been mentioned in the police permission for the first time in any Congress event. “First, the government withdrew Rahul Gandhi’s SPG security (in 2019), and now his father’s assassination is being cited while granting permission for his event,” Patwari said.
State BJP spokesperson Rakesh Singh Yadav denied the allegation and claimed that the Congress was not providing accurate information to the police and administration regarding the number of people expected to attend the event and other details.
While Indore Police Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh and Additional Commissioner (Law and Order) Mayank Awasthi were not available, a senior police officer confirmed the issuance of such self-declaration forms. “Such forms were also issued to educational institutes and hostels during the Gen-Z protests in the city. These are to alert coaching centres and hostel owners about students’ safety so they can monitor how many of their students are going to such events,” the officer said.
The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP – Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said the Verma Commission’s report had only been referenced “to highlight and specify the responsibilities of the organisers.” “Apart from this, we have only asked about the estimated number of people attending the event to provide appropriate security cover. There is no ill-intent, but this has become a political matter,” Mr Dandotiya said.
In the face of the police denial, a hostel owner from Indore’s Bhawarkuan area, which was the hotspot of the Gen-Z protests in the city, told the media that two police officers came to his hostel with the form. “They had a single form and were taking signatures from coaching centres and hostels. I was told to ensure that students return to their hostel in time and keep a record of students going for the event,” the hostel owner said. He claimed that BJP leaders had also been visiting centres asking them to prevent students from attending the event.
In the run up to Mr Gandhi’s event, the Congress levelled various allegations at the Madhya Pradesh authorities, including the denial of a permit to use the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the event, and an additional bill of ₹4 lakh for using government land at the alternate venue for more than the permitted days.