A day before senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrives in Kota to kick off his campaign on issues plaguing the education sector, hoping to tap into public anger sparked by the NEET paper leak, the coaching hub has other things on its mind. Like, ironically, the NEET re-test, scheduled for June 21.

As Congress leaders approached students as well as coaching institutes, urging owners to send their members for the meeting Gandhi will address Wednesday, there was more than a little consternation over the timing of Gandhi’s public engagement.

By mid-Tuesday, the BJP had seized on this to mount protests in Kota against Gandhi’s interaction, accusing him of inconveniencing students.

Gandhi, who dropped his plans to take a train from Delhi to Kota, posted a message on X Tuesday to the students, accusing the Modi government Tuesday of shattering crores of dreams through the “tools” of “paper leaks, exam mismanagement, cancelled recruitments, skyrocketing fees, privatisation, and scams”. “My young and Gen Z friends, one thing is clear to me… securing the future of every young Indian is the government’s responsibility. Yet, both responsibility and integrity are concepts alien to the Modi government… That is why I am calling upon you – let us transform the ‘voice of students’ rising from every street, town, and city across the country into a powerful roar in Kota,” he posted.

After Kota, Gandhi plans to hold meetings with students in Prayagraj, Patna and Delhi.

Sadhana, 42, a resident of Noida who is in Kota to help her daughter prepare for the NEET re-exam, told The Indian Express that the protest was welcome, but too late. “When news came of the NEET paper leak, I was planning with other parents to reach Kota and organise a protest. If Rahul Gandhi or the Congress is interested in the future of the children, they should have planned this protest just after the exam was cancelled. But now I am not going to send my daughter to a political rally four days before the exam.”

Vimla Chaubey, 42, who is from Madhya Pradesh and is also living in Kota with her daughter, as she prepares for next year’s medical entrance exam, says the paper leak has really “shaken up” students. But, participating in Gandhi’s meeting is out of the question. “We send our children to study in Kota, not to take part in political rallies.”

On Tuesday, top Congress leaders including Rajasthan PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra, Tikaram Jully and ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot, arrived in Kota for the final touches before Gandhi’s meeting, scheduled for 6 pm Wednesday at Dussehra Maidan. Congress leaders are hoping to assemble around 10,000 students, and emphasised Tuesday that there was no political angle to the event.

From the BJP side, senior leader and national general secretary Sunil Bansal was among those in town, and accused Gandhi of “politicising” student issues. The government had already taken action against those involved in the NEET leak, he said. “Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Kota is nothing but political drama,” Bansal said, adding that with the re-test ahead, calling students for political interaction was “inappropriate”.

BJP leader Rajendra Rathore held a press conference in Kota, where he described Gandhi as a “political tourist”, while the BJP Kisan Morcha held a demonstration.

A livid Suhana Khan, 19, from Varanasi, said: “What do these leaders think? Do they care at all about students? One political party is so careless that the paper gets leaked, while the other is doing political drama a few days before the exam.”

Rutika, 19, a NEET aspirant from Delhi preparing for the June 21 re-test, dismissed Gandhi’s protest as “political stunts by leaders”. “If they cared so much, they would have held a protest earlier,” she said.

A coaching institute employee acknowledged the Congress effort but said it is not up to them to ask parents and students to attend the event. “Even if we organise a motivational lecture for students, parents object, so sending students for a political event is impossible,” the employee said.

The NEET re-test has meant a readjustment for the coaching centres as well. Hostels and paying-guest accommodations are offering rooms on a per day basis to students who have come back to prepare in the “right environment” before the June 21 exam; many are also holding mock tests for free.

The extra push by Kota coaching centres comes against the backdrop of falling revenues since Covid. From 1.85 lakh students across its coaching institutes three years back, numbers are down to 1.30 lakh, say institutes, with the cascading effect showing in the empty rooms and paying-guest accommodations across the town, apart from a blow to other services that sprang up to cater to student demands.

Shanti Dhariwal, the Congress MLA from North Kota, stressed that Gandhi’s campaign was “not a political event”, but an interactive session with students. On the timing of the meeting, Dhariwal said they were aware that students preparing for upcoming exams might not join. “But our motive is to get students who are in Classes 11 and 12, who will be appearing for (entrance) exams in the coming years. They will have a platform to raise their voice.”

The Congress and BJP also traded charges over whose government had seen more paper leaks. Rathore claimed that 19 recruitment exams had witnessed irregularities during the Congress tenure. Dotasra countered saying the Congress government, in fact, enacted a stringent anti-paper leak law.

Namita Barndwal, 48, whose daughter is appearing for the June 21 NEET re-test, said: “Every party is busy serving its own political interests. We know how anxious children are. Paper leaks not only lower their morale but also leave parents worried about their future in this country where there is so much competition.”