Congress Accuses MP Police of Coercing Coaching Centres Ahead of Rahul Gandhi Event

The Congress has accused the Madhya Pradesh Police of intimidating coaching centre operators in Indore ahead of a programme featuring party leader Rahul Gandhi, scheduled for Saturday. The event, titled 'Chhatron Ki Goonj', is expected to draw students from coaching institutes across the city.

Party Rajya Sabha member and spokesperson Pawan Khera said the police had overstepped all bounds of propriety. He alleged that coaching centre operators were being pressured to sign statements accepting responsibility for the safety of students attending the programme.

"Coaching centre operators are being threatened. They are being forced to sign statements saying that the responsibility for the safety of students attending the programme will be theirs," Khera said.

Describing the alleged actions as a "complete chain of intimidation" rather than a security measure, Khera claimed the pressure began with Rahul Gandhi, then moved to the organisers, and finally extended to coaching centres and students.

Khera further alleged that an attempt was made to intimidate Rahul Gandhi by invoking the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, ahead of the event. The Congress had earlier pointed to a police security conditions document that referred to the Verma Commission report, which examined the role of event organisers and local political activists in the security breakdown during the 1991 Sriperumbudur incident.

Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. The Verma Commission was tasked with investigating the security lapses that led to the assassination.

Khera said ensuring the safety of every individual at a public event is the administration's responsibility. "A government that intimidates people instead of protecting them is itself announcing its own failure," he added.