The restrictions are in force from August 18 until midnight on August 31 under Sections 37, 37 and 37 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951. They cover the Pune Police Commissionerate area and include curbs on public assemblies, processions, protests, carrying weapons and activities deemed capable of disturbing public order. Gatherings requiring exemptions would need police permission.
Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is scheduled to participate in the fourth edition of the Congress’s “Chhatron Ki Goonj” student outreach initiative. The Pune programme is planned exclusively for female students and is expected to focus on issues affecting women and young people, widening a campaign through which Gandhi has sought direct conversations with students about education, employment and social concerns.
Preparations have nevertheless continued. Congress functionaries and senior police officials reviewed security arrangements at the AISSMS College ground on August 18, indicating that the authorities and organisers were still working towards holding the programme despite the prohibitory order. Pune Congress president Prashant Jagtap was among those involved in inspecting the arrangements.
The police restrictions have generated a political dispute because they overlap directly with Gandhi’s visit. Congress figures have questioned their timing and suggested that the measures could interfere with the programme, while the police order cites broader law-and-order requirements during festivals and other events rather than the Congress gathering alone.
The directive has been issued ahead of festivals including Raksha Bandhan, Eid-e-Milad and Narali Purnima, when large public gatherings and processions can increase policing requirements. It also covers a period when political meetings, protests and other mobilisation could add pressure on security arrangements. Similar preventive orders have been used in Pune during major festivals and events as a precautionary mechanism rather than as a general lockdown.
The Pune event is part of a campaign Gandhi launched in Kota, Rajasthan, on June 17. Subsequent editions were held in Dehradun on July 17 and Prayagraj on August 8. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal announced the Pune programme last week, saying its focus would be women-centric. At that stage, the venue had not been finalised.
Organisers have since described the August 22 interaction as an evening programme limited to female students, with registration arrangements being made for participants from Pune. Youth Congress functionaries have maintained that the meeting is intended as a student interaction rather than a conventional political rally, a distinction that could become important when police assess whether and under what conditions the programme may proceed.
The restrictions prohibit several forms of public mobilisation and potentially inflammatory activity, including unauthorised rallies and protests. Police also have powers during the period to regulate gatherings that could pose a threat to public peace. The breadth of the order means organisers of political, social and religious events may have to seek specific approval or comply with conditions imposed by the authorities.
Gandhi’s student campaign has acquired greater political significance amid disputes over education, examinations and the treatment of student protesters. He has increasingly used direct youth interactions to press questions surrounding opportunities, educational administration and government accountability, placing student concerns alongside the Congress’s wider opposition campaign.
The August 22 programme also comes at a politically sensitive time in Maharashtra, where the Congress is seeking to strengthen its organisational connection with younger voters. By restricting the Pune meeting to women students, the party has signalled an attempt to foreground concerns such as education, safety, access to opportunities and representation rather than stage a conventional mass gathering.
