NEW DELHI, JUL 24 (PTI/AGENCIES): The agitation against the alleged NEET paper leak spread across several states on Friday, a day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) called for nationwide protests, with demonstrators condemning the Delhi Police crackdown on July 20 and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
As protests gathered momentum, the Congress directed its state units to organise candlelight marches and satyagraha in every district on Saturday evening against alleged irregularities in the NEET and CBSE examinations and the government’s action against protesting students.
In Mumbai, thousands assembled at Shivaji Park in Dadar for a Tiranga Morcha organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT). Holding tricolours and placards, protesters raised slogans against paper leaks and authoritarianism. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said he had urged CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke not to return to Maharashtra until the protesters’ demands were met. In Pune, students, lawyers, professionals and members of social organisations braved heavy rain to march nearly 4 km from Shaniwarwada to the District Collector’s office, demanding Pradhan’s resignation and condemning the police action in Delhi.
In Nagpur, the mother of a NEET aspirant who allegedly died by suicide in May addressed protesters, seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pradhan.
In Kolkata, clashes broke out between Left student organisations and police at Dorina Crossing in Esplanade after protesters blocked roads and allegedly hurled footwear and water bottles. Police resorted to baton-charge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd.
Several parts of Karnataka witnessed protests by student groups, Dalit organisations, Youth Congress activists and civil society organisations over the alleged NEET irregularities and police action in Delhi. The BJP also held counter-protests over an attack on its leaders during an earlier demonstration near the Congress office in Bengaluru.
In Chandigarh and Kaithal, students, farmers and activists held demonstrations seeking Pradhan’s resignation. Protesters marched from Hanuman Vatika Park to the District Mini Secretariat in Kaithal, while lawyers of the Kaithal Bar Association staged a dharna outside the Bar Room.
In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, several educational institutions observed a bandh following a call by Left-affiliated student organisations. The BRS also staged protests demanding Pradhan’s resignation.
In Kerala, Youth Congress workers held a protest march in Kollam supporting the student agitation, while BJP Yuva Morcha activists marched to Cliff House, the Chief Minister’s official residence in Thiruvananthapuram, over a separate state issue.
In Tamil Nadu, protests against NEET continued with hundreds participating in a round-the-clock sit-in at Balan Illam. The demonstration, joined by over 500 people including film personalities, demanded the scrapping of NEET and Pradhan’s resignation. Police stopped protesters from marching to Lok Bhavan in Guindy.
