New Delhi | The Congress on Thursday announced a 40-day nationwide campaign titled 'Chhatron Ki Goonj' to highlight issues affecting students across the country and to press the government for major education reforms.

The campaign, which will begin on June 30, will culminate with a "Delhi Chalo" protest march on August 9, party leaders said.

On Thursday, the main opposition party held press conferences in 28 cities across states including Delhi, Kota, and Ahmedabad, to announce the campaign and also demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue.

During the campaign, the party will engage with students and collect feedback on issues ranging from paper leaks and recruitment delays to broader concerns in the education sector.

In the national capital, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi called the alleged recurring examination irregularities evidence of a "massive institutional failure" in the education system, and said the trust of students had been shattered.

Speaking at a press conference, Gogoi said repeated instances of paper leaks and disruptions in examinations had created a perception among students that the problem was "systemic" rather than the fault of a few individuals.

"If injustice is being done to students and their parents are suffering financial burdens, then someone has to take accountability," he added.

It will involve outreach programmes in educational institutions, town hall meetings, corner meetings, public dialogues and pamphlet distribution drives.

The organisation has also introduced a registration mechanism through a QR code and a missed-call facility to enable students to share their grievances.

He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had also highlighted the issue during a recent interaction in Kota, describing it as a wider crisis affecting India's education system.

In Jaipur, Congress leader Ashok Tanwar said the campaign will begin on June 30 with pamphlet distribution, street meetings and student outreach.

"The programme will be conducted in phases, including campus interactions and dialogues with students and youth, culminating in demonstrations at district collectorates on August 1 and a 'Delhi Chalo' march on August 9," Tanwar said.

Vinod Jakhar, president of the Congress student wing, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), said the campaign aims to gather feedback from students across the country.

"We will directly engage with students and youth to understand their concerns and suggestions regarding the education system. Their voices will be compiled and forwarded to top leadership," Jakhar said.

He said the party has also issued a missed-call number to collect student input on education sector reforms.

Addressing a presser in Chandigarh, Congress Working Committee member Rajeev Shukla, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Chandigarh Congress president H S Lucky said that the campaign would be carried out across coaching centres, universities, hostels, libraries and other public places to engage with students and raise awareness about examination-related issues.

The Congress leaders said that the campaign would focus on the alleged irregularities in national-level examinations, particularly the NEET-UG 2026 controversy, which they claimed exposed serious shortcomings in the examination system.

The party demanded the resignation of Pradhan and called for an independent investigation into the alleged paper leak networks and their links with officials, contractors and other entities.

In July, the party will organise campus interactions and 'Ambedkar Samvaad' programmes.

Talking to reporters in Ahmedabad, Congress leader Satej Patil alleged that repeated examination irregularities had created a "massive trust deficit" among students and jeopardised the future of lakhs of aspirants.

He said the issue had severely eroded the faith of students in the system.

The party also called for a fixed annual examination and recruitment calendar, with pre-announced dates for exams, results and appointments.

Replying to a question on student suicides, Patil said the Congress would consider suggestions for creating counselling mechanisms to support students and help restore their confidence.

In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari and party MP Imran Masood addressed a press conference to provide details about the campaign.

Paper leaks are no longer isolated incidents but have taken the form of an organised network, they added.

In Maharashtra's Nagpur, Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed gave an outline of the 'Chhatro Ki Goonj' campaign. She also slammed the Centre over its "failure" to curb the incidents of exam paper leaks.

Citing a news report, she said the country witnessed 89 paper leaks in the last 10 years, affecting more than six crore students. She also highlighted the issue of students' suicides.

"Who is responsible for all this?" she said, questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "silence" over the NEET issue.