Just before Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj programme in Pune, ABVP-NSUI clash erupts at COEP hostel. Mutual allegations of pressure and threats surface; probe underway
New Delhi: Tensions between student organisations escalated in Pune on Friday. Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) clashed at the hostel campus of COEP Technological University in Shivajinagar.
The clash took place a day before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme in the city.
The confrontation followed a dispute between members of the two student organisations. Police deployed additional personnel at the campus and nearby areas after the incident.
Both ABVP and NSUI have levelled allegations against each other. Police are examining CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and other evidence to establish the sequence of events.
The incident comes ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s interaction with women students in Pune on Saturday, August 22. The Congress has organised the programme as part of its ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ student outreach campaign. Police have granted permission for the event subject to several security and administrative conditions.
How a Social Media Row Sparked the Clash
According to accounts emerging from the incident, the dispute at the COEP hostel was linked to social media activity and reel-making related to the upcoming Rahul Gandhi programme.
Members of the rival student groups reportedly exchanged arguments while promoting or opposing the event. The verbal dispute subsequently escalated into a confrontation between ABVP and NSUI workers. The two organisations, however, have given different accounts of what triggered the clash.
ABVP has alleged that people associated with Congress and NSUI entered the college hostel and pressured women students to register for Rahul Gandhi’s programme. ABVP state secretary Atharva Kulkarni cited the alleged pressure on students as the reason for the confrontation.
Congress and NSUI have rejected the allegation. They have instead claimed that ABVP-linked activists confronted two women students inside the hostel because they supported the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme.
Allegations of Assault Against Two Students
The dispute centred on allegations involving two women students. Congress and NSUI leaders alleged that the students were stopped inside the hostel. They claimed the students faced threats and assault after expressing support for the programme.
Following the incident, NSUI workers gathered outside the hostel. The situation became tense, and the confrontation between the two groups intensified.
Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, visited the hostel after the incident. He alleged that ABVP activists had threatened the women students.
Akshay Jain, media department chief of the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress, also alleged that the students had raised concerns about scholarships. He said they had also supported Rahul Gandhi’s programme.
ABVP’s Atharva Kulkarni disputed these allegations and maintained that NSUI activists had entered the hostel premises and attempted to pressure women students into registering for the event. With both sides presenting different versions, police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
Injuries Reported as Clash Intensifies
Reports say two Congress-linked workers sustained injuries during the clash. Congress workers rushed both of them to Sancheti Hospital in Pune for treatment, and Congress leaders later visited the hospital to meet the injured.
Tension gripped the college campus after the incident, prompting police to deploy additional forces to bring the situation under control. Senior university officials and police officers also reached the spot. Police worked to calm both sides and disperse the crowd that had gathered.
Police are now examining available CCTV footage and eyewitness statements, along with other evidence, to establish what actually happened. It would therefore be premature to say who bears responsibility for the clash.
Congress Leaders Reach Campus, Demand Action
Congress leaders took charge of the situation after the incident. Vijay Wadettiwar, Satej Patil, and Vishwajeet Kadam reportedly reached the spot, staged a sit-in on the college campus, and demanded action against those involved in the clash.
Congress has framed the incident as an attempt to suppress women students’ voices, while ABVP links it to what it calls Congress and NSUI conducting political activity on campus. The dispute has thus moved beyond a clash between two student groups and is now shaping the wider political conversation in Maharashtra.
Congress MP Praniti Shinde reportedly spoke by phone with the affected students to check on their well-being. She left the area outside the hostel only after receiving assurances of security from the police.
What Exactly is Chhatron Ki Goonj?
“Chhatron Ki Goonj” forms part of Congress’s broader student and youth outreach campaign. Under this campaign, Rahul Gandhi has been directly engaging with students across different cities. He has already held similar interactions in Kota, Dehradun, and Prayagraj, and Pune marks the fourth major student dialogue in this series.
Through this campaign, Congress aims to place student issues at the centre of political debate — covering the education system, alleged irregularities and paper leaks in competitive exams, employment, fees, and other youth-related concerns.
The Pune edition stands apart from earlier events, as organisers have designed it specifically around women students. Rahul Gandhi has invited women to share their views on their lives, experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Organisers expect the event to cover issues such as women’s safety, education, equality, competitive exams, and employment.
Why the Pune Programme is Women-Centric
Congress has promoted the Pune edition as a “women special” programme. Publicity material released by Maharashtra Congress states that the event will take place on August 22 at 5 PM at AISSMS Ground.
Rahul Gandhi has posed questions to women ahead of the event: what does being an Indian woman mean to them, what is their own voice apart from family and society, and how do they see their struggles, dreams, and future.
Congress leaders say the programme will use direct conversations with women students to understand the educational, economic, and social challenges they face. Ahead of the event, the party had already carried out campus outreach, registration drives, bike rallies, and music events to promote the programme in Pune.
Event Permission Comes with Tight Security Norms
Pune Police have granted permission for the event but attached 30 conditions to it. According to the permission order, the programme will run from around 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM and is expected to draw roughly 8,000 to 10,000 attendees.
Police have made organisers responsible for maintaining law and order at the venue and have banned objectionable images, posters, or banners. They have also asked organisers to avoid any activity that could hurt religious sentiments or disturb law and order.
The conditions require organisers to arrange sufficient entry and exit points, drinking water, toilets, parking, fire-safety equipment, and security personnel. Police have further directed organisers to deploy adequate women security staff and volunteers, install CCTV cameras at the venue, and maintain continuous monitoring. They have also banned drone photography at the site.
Earlier Prohibitory Orders Sparked Uncertainty
Before Rahul Gandhi’s programme, the Pune administration had imposed prohibitory orders for 14 days, which initially created confusion around the event. Congress had signalled that it would explore legal options if the administration blocked the programme. Police eventually granted permission with 30 conditions attached.
This episode had already raised the political temperature around the event, and the subsequent clash between ABVP and NSUI at the COEP hostel has further deepened the administration’s security concerns.
Political Rivalry Between BJP and Congress Intensifies
“Chhatron Ki Goonj” goes beyond a simple student-dialogue programme. Through it, Congress is working to strengthen its political reach among young voters, especially students. Following a Congress Working Committee meeting, party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party plans to expand Rahul Gandhi’s student outreach to nearly 800 cities and small towns.
The campaign gives prominence to issues such as education, the examination system, and employment, and Congress is using these issues to link youth concerns to government policy. BJP and its affiliated student organisations, on the other hand, view such programmes as political propaganda.
The Pune incident has unfolded against this backdrop of wider political rivalry. Notably, the dispute broke out not on a major political stage but inside a college hostel — raising the question of whether politically affiliated student organisations can keep educational campuses free from political confrontation.
Students’ Voices Caught in the Crossfire
“Chhatron Ki Goonj” was designed to give students a direct platform to raise their concerns with Rahul Gandhi. But the clash just before the Pune event has layered political controversy over that original purpose.
Congress links the incident to women students’ voices and rights, while ABVP raises questions about alleged campaigning and registration pressure on campus. Investigators are still examining both sets of allegations.
Saturday’s event therefore poses a dual challenge for the administration: organising a major political programme safely, while ensuring that the student-politics dispute does not spiral into a law-and-order problem.
Only the police investigation will clarify what actually triggered the dispute at the COEP hostel and who bears responsibility for the clash. What is already clear, though, is that this confrontation between student organisations has raised the political stakes surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s Pune visit even further.
