Over the past few months, the Congress and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) found themselves on the same side of several issues - from exam paper leaks to the SIR exercise - but never shared the same stage. Both Rahul Gandhi and Abhijeet Dipke largely kept their distance from each other, even on social media. That appeared to change on Wednesday when Rahul, for the first time, publicly came out in support of the CJP after its leaders were arrested for protesting at Jantar Mantar.
The Leader of the Opposition, however, stopped short of naming the CJP in his post. "Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice," Rahul said in a carefully worded X post. The Congress MP's remarks drew a quick "thank you" from Dipke, marking a rare moment of public warmth between the two sides.
On Wednesday, CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were sent to Tihar Jail for violating their peace bonds and trespassing into Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as a protest site.
WHY ARE CONGRESS AND CJP KEEPING DISTANCE?
Rahul's post marked a major shift in the stance of the Congress, which so far has been reluctant to share the stage with the CJP.
Even during the CJP's massive agitation in July over paper leaks and against the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rahul kept his distance. He also did not visit Jantar Mantar during activist Sonam Wangchuk's indefinite hunger strike. The Congress carried out its own parallel protest.
The Congress had its own reasons. Stay with us, and we will explain why.
Behind the Congress's scepticism was the speculation that the CJP was the "B-team" of the AAP and it might draw youth support away from Rahul. In fact, several CJP leaders previously worked with the AAP. The Congress is well aware that the AAP's rise in Delhi and Punjab has weaned away its traditional support base.
At that time, the Congress maintained that Rahul had been raising the paper leak issue long before through his 'Chhatron ki goonj' campaign.
However, it was the CJP's relentless and sustained month-long agitation, which mobilised the Gen Z, that eventually led to the resignation of Pradhan. In doing that, the Dipke and co. punctured the BJP's aura of invincibility.
The Congress also refrained from supporting the CJP's 'School theek karo' campaign. Tensions between the outfits came to a head during the CJP's campaign in Assam in August.
Then, Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh alleged that it was an AAP initiative and accused the CJP of "piggyriding and hijacking issues of others".
"Hijacking of issues" is basically what has been at the centre of the chill between the Congress and CJP, as both have been raising similar grievances.
The CJP's July agitation, however, spurred the Congress to increase its engagement with the youth and Gen Z. It could be seen in Rahul's frequent interactions with students as well as young women.
His "smash the patriarchy" call at a gathering of women students last month in Pune also struck a chord with the youth.
All along, Rahul and the Congress stayed away from mentioning the CJP.
RAHUL GANDHI'S 'ONE PROTEST' MESSAGE
A similar pattern is now visible again in the protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR process.
Both the CJP and the Congress have followed separate courses. Here too, Congress leaders stressed that Rahul had raised the 'vote chori' issue long before the CJP.
Last week, as Rahul and INDIA bloc leaders held back-to-back street protests in central Delhi, the CJP held parallel agitations in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Even on October 10, the Congress stayed away from the CJP's Jantar Mantar march. The CJP's call, however, received support from top opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Pinarayi Vijayan. The former chief ministers were also detained briefly.
Rahul, meanwhile, was in Chennai for a 'Chhatron ki goonj' event. However, he condemned the police crackdown and the detention of 3,000 protesters. There was no CJP mention, though.
However, there was a change in Rahul's tone from Monday onwards, as the INDIA bloc jointly marched to the Supreme Court. When asked about the parallel protests by the CJP, Rahul was quick to underline that "all protests are one protest".
While the CJP didn't participate in the march, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi were seen walking with AISA (Left student outfit) leader Neha Bora on Monday. Bora was also invited to the tea party held by Rahul for INDIA bloc leaders on Tuesday.
It was seen as a bid to dispel the narrative that the Congress was against including youth leaders in its campaign.
On Tuesday, Rahul reiterated that there were no parallel protests. "We are standing here together as one; there are no parallel protests, there's only one protest," he said.
The LoP sent a similar message on Wednesday as well, as he condemned the arrest of CJP leaders Das and Ranka.
"Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one - citizens demanding their constitutional rights," Rahul said.
It is against this backdrop that Rahul's first open support for the CJP, even without naming the outfit, indicates a change in his strategy amid the protest against Gyanesh Kumar. It remains to be seen if Rahul eventually shares the stage with the cockroaches.
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