Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday, 8 August mounted a pointed attack on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' student interaction programme in Prayagraj, branding it a resounding failure and declaring that the Congress has no political future in the state.

Pathak's Broadside on Turnout and Congress

Pathak alleged that despite Congress spending crores of rupees over three months and claiming more than two lakh registrations, only around 5,000 students showed up when Gandhi arrived at the venue. The Deputy Chief Minister, himself a former president of the Lucknow University Students' Union, argued that the poor attendance had weakened Gandhi's negotiating position with the Samajwadi Party over seat-sharing arrangements.

'There has been no parchi or kharchi system here — that existed during your governments,' Pathak said, addressing Gandhi directly. He further demanded that the Congress formally apologise for imposing the Emergency, which he said had 'strangled democracy,' and for what he described as atrocities against students and youth during Congress-ruled administrations.

Double-Engine Government Claims

Pathak defended the Yogi Adityanath-led state government, saying it operates on the principle of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' under the broader guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He cited a series of economic indicators, claiming the state's per capita income has tripled, the budget has tripled, and that today's youth in Uttar Pradesh are increasingly becoming job creators rather than migrating in search of employment.

'We are working to make Uttar Pradesh the number one state in the country,' he said, urging Gandhi not to concern himself with the state's affairs.

Personal Questions Directed at Rahul Gandhi

In a notably personal line of attack, Pathak questioned whether Gandhi had ever visited his grandfather's grave in Prayagraj, cleaned it, or paid his respects — invoking the cultural significance of remembering ancestors, particularly during Pitru Paksha. He alleged that rather than introspecting, Gandhi was aligning with the Samajwadi Party primarily to court caste- and religion-based vote banks.

Sanjay Nishad Joins the Attack

Cabinet Minister for Fisheries Sanjay Nishad echoed the criticism, dismissing the event as a 'flop show' and asserting that the country's youth cannot be misled. 'If a fifty-five-year-old is considered youth, then where are the other young people?' he asked, in an apparent reference to Gandhi's age.

Nishad also alleged that the programme was an attempt to project Priyanka Gandhi's daughter, and demanded a response from the Congress on the matter. He claimed that Gen-Z youth stand firmly behind Prime Minister Modi and the double-engine government, pointing to initiatives such as Start-up India and Skill India as evidence of the government's youth-focused record. He also took a swipe at the Samajwadi Party, noting that Congress's youth organisations belong to the past while the current government maintains far better-organised youth bodies.

What This Signals Politically

The coordinated response from two senior Uttar Pradesh ministers underscores the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s strategy of pre-emptively countering any Congress attempt to build a student base in the state ahead of future electoral cycles. Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, remains a critical battleground, and any opposition inroad into the youth demographic is treated as a direct threat by the ruling alliance. The Congress has not yet issued a formal response to the ministers' remarks.