Student bodies to hold ‘Chalo Lok Bhavan’ protest on July 23

Representatives of various student and youth organisations on Wednesday appealed to the public to support the proposed “Chalo Lok Bhavan” protest on July 23 and the educational institutions bandh on July 24, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.

Addressing a joint press conference in Vijayawada, the organisations alleged that the Union government had failed to safeguard the interests of students and was suppressing dissent instead of addressing their concerns.

Student Federation of India State secretary K. Prasanna Kumar alleged that the future of lakhs of students had been pushed into uncertainty and condemned the Delhi police action against students participating in the “Chalo Parliament” protest. He claimed that students were subjected to tear gas and sustained serious injuries, and alleged that a woman student was battling for her life following the police action.

It was unacceptable for the government to respond with repression when students sought accountability, he said, adding that Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan should resign immediately. He appealed to students and the public to make both the “Chalo Lok Bhavan” protest and the educational institutions bandh a success.

AISF State president G. Valaraju criticised the Andhra Pradesh coalition government for remaining silent on the issue. Alleging that more than 50,000 students in the State had been affected by the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, he urged both the ruling coalition and the Opposition to respond.

DYFI State secretary G. Ramanna alleged that 152 examination papers had been leaked across the country over the past 14 years, describing it as a multi-crore racket.

PDSU State secretary Rajesh alleged that although thousands of students had taken out a peaceful rally at Jantar Mantar, the authorities had deployed a heavy police force, suspended internet services and halted Metro services. He claimed that these measures reflected the BJP government’s fear of the youth movement and demanded the immediate dismissal of Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan.

Among those present were AIYF State treasurer Subhani, AISA State leader Mahesh, SFI State vice-president Ravi, SFI district secretary Venkateswara Rao, student leader Praneeth, PDSU State vice-president Sunil and DYFI district secretary Siva.