Congress claims Rahul Gandhi stopped by police from entering Ambedkar hostel in Bihar's Darbhanga

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was stopped by police on Thursday while trying to enter the Ambedkar hostel in Darbhanga, where he was scheduled to interact with students under the party’s ‘Shiksha Nyay Samvad’ initiative.Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, was denied entry into the hostel premises by local authorities, sparking protests from senior Bihar Congress leaders who demanded that the gates be opened.The Congress had planned the event at the Ambedkar hostel, but the district administration reportedly shifted the venue to Town Hall late Wednesday night, after initially denying permission. Congress leaders, however, insisted that Gandhi would speak to students at the original venue."The administration in Darbhanga is acting at the behest of the JD(U)-BJP combine," senior Congress leader Abhay Dubey said at a press conference in Patna. "Hundreds of students from nearby districts like Madhubani and Samastipur are being stopped from entering Darbhanga. But the administration should realise that Rahul Gandhi enjoys the support of the deprived sections of this country."While police restricted entry, Bihar Congress leaders accused the administration of obstructing their outreach programme and questioned claims that prior permission to hold the event at the hostel was never requested.Dubey dismissed the administration’s claim and called it an excuse to suppress the voice of students. “It’s unfortunate that such tactics are being used to silence a dialogue meant to address education inequality,” he said.The ‘Shiksha Nyay Samvad’ is a Congress-led public outreach campaign focused on educational justice, and Darbhanga was one of the key stops in Bihar.