Withdraw all cases against protesters: CPI MP to Modi

CPI’s Rajya Sabha member P. Sandosh Kumar has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding a stop to the “systematic harassment and intimidation” of students who participated in the protests against the NEET paper leak. Calling the protest a genuine expression of the frustration of students, he said participants in the movement are being subjected to intimidation by RSS workers and BJP leaders and demanded that all cases against students must be withdrawn.

In the letter, Mr. Kumar stated that students who had publicly documented the protests through reels and social media content were allegedly surrounded and threatened in Connaught Place in New Delhi while some students faced harassment at their homes, with their families also facing social pressure. “The youth of this country exercised their democratic right to protest against injustice. Instead of acknowledging their legitimate concerns, they are now being subjected to intimidation and fear. Such actions strike at the very foundation of democracy and cannot be tolerated in a constitutional republic,” Mr. Kumar stated.

He added that even as Mr. Modi regularly seeks to connect with ‘Gen Z’ through “late-night reels”, the youngsters are threatened for expressing dissent. “It exposes the difference between image and reality. Democracy cannot be reduced to Instagram reels while dissent is met with intimidation,” he added.