Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday described India’s 40 crore young people as the country’s “greatest strength”, while arguing that they were being caught in a “chakravyuh” created by costly education, declining job opportunities and examination paper leaks.
The BJP quickly responded by questioning why Gandhi was addressing students in Prayagraj instead of meeting protesting aspirants in Congress-ruled Jharkhand.
“Rahul Gandhi should have gone to Ranchi instead of Prayagraj,” BJP leader Amit Malviya said while the Congress leader spoke to students and competitive exam aspirants at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme at KP Ground.
The Leader of Opposition structured his address around three themes — “dard, data and daulat”, or pain, data and wealth. He argued that India had an unparalleled advantage because of its large young population but was failing to transform that potential into employment and economic opportunities.
“If this country moves forward, it will do so because of your strength. India has the world’s largest youth population – 40 crore energetic young people. This is the strength of the country,” he said.
The programme was part of the Congress’s 40-day nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign, which began in June with a focus on examination paper leaks, recruitment irregularities and unemployment, while also demanding changes to the examination system.
‘DEGREES HAVE NO MEANING IF THEY CANNOT GET YOU A JOB’
Gandhi said families were spending lakhs of rupees on higher education, only for young people to find that their degrees did not necessarily lead to employment.
“You study engineering, medicine, postgraduate courses or whatever you choose. Lakhs of rupees are taken from your families and then you are given a certificate,” the 56-year-old leader said.
“But today that certificate has no meaning in India because it cannot give you employment.”
He claimed that only 12 out of every 1,000 young Indians were able to secure permanent employment.
Gandhi also cited the example of a competitive exam aspirant who said he worked for nearly 10 hours a day for Blinkit while preparing for government examinations. The aspirant had reportedly missed qualifying for an Indian Army test by a single mark.
The Congress leader used the example to argue that young people were compelled to work long hours to finance their exam preparation, while simultaneously facing the uncertainty created by paper leaks.
Gandhi said years of hard work could be undone if individuals with money were able to obtain leaked examination papers.
‘YOUTH PLUS DATA EQUALS 21ST-CENTURY ECONOMY’
Gandhi then identified data as what he called India’s second major advantage after its young population.
“Youth plus data is equal to the 21st-century economy,” he said.
Comparing data with petroleum’s role in the previous century, the Rae Bareli MP described data as the raw material powering artificial intelligence.
“If I gave you a petrol engine in the 20th century but refused to give you petrol, you would say the engine was useless. In the same way, AI has no meaning without your data,” he said.
He argued that the enormous amount of data generated by Indians should be considered a national resource.
“This data is India’s and it is yours. You create it. It comes from your imagination. It is India’s capital, strength and asset,” he said.
However, Gandhi alleged that the benefits of this data were instead flowing to major corporations, naming Jio, Adani, Facebook and Google.
‘REELS ARE THE ADDICTION OF THE 21ST CENTURY’
Gandhi also criticised the social media-driven economy, describing the constant consumption of reels as the “addiction of the 21st Century”.
He claimed young Indians were being encouraged to spend hours watching and producing content on Instagram and WhatsApp even as opportunities for stable employment remained limited.
“You are told to watch as many reels as you want, send as many WhatsApp messages as you want and make as many Instagram Reels as you want,” Gandhi said.
“This is the addiction of the 21st century. But then you are told that you cannot get a job or employment in this country.”
Towards the conclusion of his address, Gandhi said his political battle was directed at the system rather than specific individuals.
While referring to images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, industrialist Gautam Adani and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat displayed during his speech, Gandhi said there was no reason to hate anyone.
“We only have to change the system. We have to spread love,” he said before ending his address with his familiar “Tata, bye-bye”.
BJP QUESTIONS RAHUL OVER JHARKHAND PROTESTS
The BJP attempted to counter Gandhi’s student outreach by highlighting the ongoing protests by JPSC and JSSC aspirants in Jharkhand, where the Congress is part of the JMM-led state government.
BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan accused the Lok Sabha MP of “two-faced political hypocrisy”, questioning why he had attended the Prayagraj event but had not met students protesting in Ranchi.
“Today is the anniversary of the Quit India Movement, and it is high time Rahul Gandhi quit his two-faced political hypocrisy,” Kesavan said.
“He has no empathy, nor does he find the time to meet students in Jharkhand who are on a hunger strike, some of whom have even fainted. Yet today, Rahul Gandhi is attending his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in Prayagraj,” he added.
The BJP’s criticism came as demonstrations in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in government recruitment examinations continued, with aspirants seeking action concerning JPSC and JSSC examinations.
GEN Z BECOMES NEW POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND
Gandhi’s programme came as political parties increasingly intensify their engagement with young voters, with recent student-led demonstrations over paper leaks and examination irregularities bringing Gen Z further into the political spotlight.
Just hours before Gandhi’s Prayagraj event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also interacted with young people at IIT Delhi’s 57th Convocation.
Modi encouraged graduating students to challenge conventional thinking and approach major problems by breaking them down into smaller, manageable tasks instead of becoming overwhelmed.
“Keep curiosity alive in life. Keep your learning instinct awakened,” Modi told more than 3,000 students and 587 PhD scholars attending the ceremony.
The simultaneous outreach by the two political camps highlights the growing significance of young voters, with parties increasingly viewing Gen Z as an important electoral constituency.
