NEW DELHI: Several opposition parties came out in support of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s protest againt paper leak of NEET-UG and other competitive exams and their demand for the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The central government is yet to respond to the demands of the protesters. The development comes a day after the CJP’s “Sansad Chalo” march which witnessed police crackdown on Monday.
Which political parties are protesting
Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal and several party workers staged a protest outside the prime minister’s residence. The party is demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the home minister. “We have marched to PM Modi’s house to demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday. The Government doesn’t want to take any accountability or does it want to have a debate on it in Parliament. PM and HM must resign for destroying the future of India’s youth,” Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and leader Atishi joined the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. Moreover, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule also joined the protesters.Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee expressed the willingness to join the protests in Delhi if the need arises while also calling for INDIA bloc unity.“We supported CJP from the beginning. If need be, I will visit Delhi and join their protest,” ANI quoted her as saying.“The time has come to be united under the umbrella of the INDIA Alliance against the BJP. I request all parties of the nation and the entire country, and in Bengal also,” she added. Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dimple Yadav was one of the major political leaders who actively participated in the protest on Monday.Questioning the police action against the protesters, Yadav said: “These children had come all the way to the Parliament building because they wanted to tell the government that your system has fallen ill, it is not working. Those innocent children were beaten with batons, the daughters’ clothes were torn.”
What govt said
The central government has not responded to the demands of the resignations yet. However, talks were held with the CJP and the opposition to pacify the protests.Union minister Jitendra Singh reached Lok Kalyan Marg and spoke with Rahul Gandhi over Congress’s protest.Union minister JP Nadda also held talks with the protesters on Monday when the CJP submitted its demands.“This morning, for the first time, a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government, and our discussions have been ongoing since 11.50am. The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere. An initial verbal discussion was held in detail with their delegation, and they submitted a written petition to me around 4pm. I have requested all the protesters to end their sit-in and assist the administration in restoring normalcy,” Nadda said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government acted firmly against those behind the NEET paper leak to safeguard students’ futures, urging states to work with the Centre to eliminate the menace in the national interest. The remarks came at a meeting of the NDA MPs on Tuesday.“At the same time, the prime minister said, to ensure that students’ future was not affected, the NEET re-examination was given priority, conducted successfully, and the results were declared without delay,” Union minister Kiren Rijiju said after the meeting.Protests continued at Jantar Mantar as hundreds of students and their supporters returned to Jantar Mantar a day after their march to Parliament, saying the alleged use of force by police had only reinforced their determination to press on with the agitation. The protest site remained crowded through the afternoon, with students, parents and supporters raising slogans over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination and reiterating their demand for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
