Tensions between the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have come to the fore at the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest stage at Jantar Mantar, with both parties facing accusations of trying to claim ownership of the youth-led agitation.
The friction surfaced on Wednesday during an exchange between an AAP leader and an activist perceived to be close to the Congress. The interaction, which took place away from cameras, highlighted the political contest over a protest that has grown into one of the largest youth-led mobilisations in recent years.
For the AAP, which exited the INDIA bloc in June 2025, the Congress's support for the protest came too late and, more importantly, on terms that the party believes undermined the movement.
"The Congress, through its social media ecosystem, tried to damage the movement from the very beginning. When that narrative didn't work, they started saying there was no crowd and that the agitation was a flop. Once the movement acquired a life of its own, the Congress tried to take it over," an AAP leader told PTI.
According to the AAP leader, Congress supporters on social media initially attempted to portray the campaign as "India Against Corruption (IAC) 2.0" — a reference to the anti-corruption movement from which the AAP emerged.
The movement that contributed to the UPA government's defeat remains at the centre of the distrust between the Congress and AAP.
The Congress has long maintained that the anti-corruption campaign had covert backing from the RSS-BJP.
The distrust deepened after Arvind Kejriwal founded the AAP, which ended Congress's 15-year rule in Delhi in 2013, defeated it in Punjab in 2022 and emerged as a significant political force in Gujarat the same year, winning five Assembly seats and securing around 13 per cent of the vote share.
"Congress forced INDIA allies to send their second-rung leaders initially. Then, once the movement gathered momentum on its own, they tried to hijack it. If they genuinely believed this was an AAP project, why did they later jump into it? I had an exchange of words with Yogendra Yadav, who advises the Congress, at Jantar Mantar yesterday," AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj told PTI.
The AAP also accused the Congress of creating confusion by holding separate discussions with activist Sonam Wangchuk, who joined the CJP-led protest and began an indefinite hunger strike on June 28.
AAP functionaries alleged that ahead of the CJP's July 20 march to Parliament, the Congress persuaded Wangchuk to indicate that he would end his fast if political parties assured him they would raise the issue in Parliament.
The announcement, made from the stage by Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali Wangmo on the evening of July 19, was made without consulting CJP leaders, they alleged — a claim echoed by CJP functionaries.
"It created confusion and hurt the movement just before one of its biggest mobilisations," another AAP leader claimed, adding that a July 19 social media post by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose announcing that MPs would meet Wangchuk the following day further added to the confusion.
The AAP also questioned the Congress's protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence following the police action against students on July 20.
AAP leaders said Rahul Gandhi remained silent on the protests until the police crackdown turned the issue into a national controversy.
"He did not utter a word until the evening of July 20, when students were brutalised by the police," an AAP leader said.
Asked about the allegations at a press conference on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi said the Congress was "fully supporting the students' movement" and did not directly respond to the AAP's claims.
AAP leaders also pointed to remarks by Wangmo, who questioned the Congress's approach in a television interview on Thursday.
"We are aligned with every well-meaning individual. Everybody knows it (the Congress protest outside the prime minister's residence) lacked sincerity. It would have been more sincere if it had been done by joining hands at Jantar Mantar. The public cannot be fooled anymore. Leaders cannot gaslight anymore," she said.
Another flashpoint emerged when Opposition MPs separately sought Wangchuk's support to end his hunger strike.
Ghose led one initiative, collecting signatures from 19 MPs, including Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, before submitting the letter.
Later the same day, AAP leader Sanjay Singh led another delegation that submitted a letter carrying signatures from 55 MPs across the Opposition spectrum, including leaders from the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), Shiv Sena (UBT), DMK, RJD, BJD, Azad Samaj Party, CPI, National Conference and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
A Congress Lok Sabha MP described the AAP's criticism of the Congress as a reflection of Arvind Kejriwal's political challenges, including the party's defeat in Delhi in 2025 and the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections in 2027.
"The student-led movement has offered the AAP an opportunity to reconnect with urban and young voters who once propelled it to power. Also, as the ruling party in Punjab, it cannot afford to be seen as closely cooperating with the Congress, which is trying to stage a comeback," the MP said.
The Congress, too, appears divided over its response to the protest.
While Congress leader Pawan Khera visited the protest site and met Wangchuk, Congress Seva Dal chief BV Srinivas mocked the CJP leadership in a post on X before deleting it. The Seva Dal later sent food and drinking water for protesters camping at Jantar Mantar.
Other Opposition parties have privately expressed concern over the public disagreement between the two INDIA bloc allies.
Leaders of the Shiv Sena (UBT), an INDIA bloc constituent, have urged both sides to reduce tensions.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal met Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray at MP Sanjay Raut's residence. Sena leaders are learnt to have advised the AAP that political differences should not overshadow the students' campaign.
Bharadwaj also sought to downplay the political confrontation.
"The students and Gen Z are not bothered by this. This fight is for the media and X. The campaign is actually playing out on the streets and on Instagram," he told PTI, suggesting that political parties risk misreading a movement shaped by younger protesters and new forms of mobilisation.