Rahul Gandhi on Thursday challenged prohibitory orders to address Dalit students in poll-bound Bihar’s Darbhanga, daring “Nitishji and Modiji” to stop him from advocating the introduction of reservation in private educational institutions.

There was high drama after Rahul’s car was stopped outside the university gate as the district administration had denied permission for his scheduled interaction with students at the Ambedkar hostel. The administration had allotted a town hall in the city as an alternative venue but the Congress refused to accept it, alleging a deliberate move to suppress Rahul with the eleventh-hour denial of permission.

Rahul stepped out of his car and walked to the hostel, accompanied by slogan-shouting party workers. Police and district authorities tried to stop him.

“Nitishji, Modiji, rok sako toh rok lo” (Nitishji and Modiji, stop me if you can),” Rahul posted on X. “The storm of a caste census will bring about a revolution in social justice, education and employment,” the post added.

Bihar is headed for the Assembly polls later this year and the Congress, which is part of the Opposition alliance in the state that also has the RJD and the Left, is trying to woo the OBCs and the Dalits.

“I came from Delhi to speak with you and to listen to what you have to say, but the administration tried everything to stop me. They blocked roads and set up barricades, but I found another way. I was stopped, but they could not stop me — because your strength is behind me and no force in the world can stop that,” Rahul said in his address.

Rahul told the students about his speech in the Lok Sabha where he had said that no force could stop the caste census, stressing that the Narendra Modi government was compelled to accept the demand “out of fear” as pressure mounted from the deprived sections.

Rahul iterated his three main demands — a caste census should be undertaken in an “effective and transparent” manner, the 50 per cent cap on reservation should be abolished, and quotas be introduced in private colleges and universities as well.

Top Congress leaders in Delhi rallied behind Rahul and slammed the NDA government in Bihar. “Now is it against the Constitution to communicate with Dalits, deprived and backward-caste students?” asked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, terming the move to stop Rahul as “height of dictatorship” by the JDU-BJP government in the state.