"Chhatron Ki Goonj" or "Paise Ki Goonj"? BJP alleges paid crowd at Rahul Gandhi's Pune event

The BJP on Saturday called Rahul Gandhi's student event in Pune "Paise Ki Goonj," accusing Congress of paying social media influencers to bring in crowds. Congress hit back, saying the BJP was scared of Gandhi's growing popularity among Gen Z.

BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban said Congress spent nearly Rs 10 crore, paying influencers up to Rs 35,000 each, to boost the crowd at the "Chhatron Ki Goonj" event. Congress leader Sachin Sawant responded by saying BJP leaders were worried about Gandhi's rising influence among young people.

Gandhi is set to hold a "Chhatron Ki Goonj" event for female students in Pune on Saturday.

Speaking at a press meet at the BJP's Maharashtra office, Ban said Congress was trying to make the event look popular by paying people to attend and promote it online.

He claimed videos had surfaced showing influencers being offered Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000, along with travel costs, to promote the Pune event.

"The programme is not 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' but 'Paise Ki Goonj'. The Congress is gathering crowds with money," Ban alleged.

He said if around 3,000 people were paid Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 each, the total cost could be between Rs 9 crore and Rs 10 crore.

"Where has this money come from? Who is providing it and through whom is it being distributed? What is the official account of this money?" he asked. 

Ban demanded an investigation into where the money came from, asking if it was linked to foreign funding or money diverted through contracts or commissions in Congress-run states. He also wanted a probe into who was involved in distributing the funds.

BJP Maharashtra vice-president Keshav Upadhyay said the Pune event was really about Gandhi trying to build a political platform using student issues.

"Though the programme is called 'Chhatron Ki Goonj', it is actually Rahul Gandhi's political battle," Upadhyay said, adding that Gandhi had lost 100 elections and still hadn't found a clear political direction.

"Rahul Gandhi has not been able to find a concrete issue against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. Despite making allegations and counter-allegations about fake narratives and trying various political experiments, people are not ready to trust him," he said.

Responding to the BJP, Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the ruling party was rattled by the strong response Gandhi was getting from young voters, especially Gen Z.

He accused the BJP of trying to block the Pune event.

Sawant compared the BJP's fear of Gandhi to how Mughal armies were once afraid of Maratha warriors Santaji Ghorpade and Dhanaji Jadhav.

"The BJP has become so rattled by Rahul Gandhi that its leaders perhaps see him in their dreams, just as Santaji and Dhanaji appeared in the dreams of Mughal forces," Sawant said. 

He also claimed that authorities in Uttar Pradesh had released sewage water near the venue of Gandhi's Prayagraj event to keep young people away.

Sawant said the Maharashtra government had placed several restrictions on the Pune event and accused ABVP members of misbehaving on Friday.

"No matter how much they protest or try to create obstacles, Gen Z will tell the country that the BJP has been rejected," Sawant said, adding that Gandhi would continue his political work.

Meanwhile, NCP (SP) leader Mahesh Tapase accused the ABVP of creating problems for students at the Pune event and said the BJP was showing "intellectual bankruptcy" by questioning the programme.

Tapase said the country runs on dialogue, and there was no reason for the BJP to fear an event meant to raise issues faced by students and young people.

"If Rahul Gandhi is holding the 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' programme to raise his voice against injustice being done to youth and students, why is the BJP afraid of it?" he said.

"Under the Constitution, citizens have the right to decide which views they want to hear, accept or reject. The youth of the country have now decided to reject the BJP's ideology, and that is why the BJP is rattled," Tapase said.  (With inputs from PTI)