Bhubaneswar: Members of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) and the All India Women’s Cultural Organisation staged a protest at Master Canteen Square Thursday, condemning the alleged police action against students demonstrating at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over the NEET examination paper leak issue.
According to the organisers, the demonstration was held to protest what they described as a “brutal police crackdown” on students during a march to Parliament July 20. The organisations alleged that several protesters were seriously injured in the police action.
The protesting organisations alleged that repeated irregularities and paper leaks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), have caused widespread distress among aspirants across the country. They further claimed that several students died by suicide amid the pressure and uncertainty surrounding the examination.
The organisations said students at Jantar Mantar had been on a hunger strike, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the conduct of entrance examinations at the state level, and compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the families of students who they alleged died by suicide.
The protesters also alleged that environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, who joined the hunger strike in support of the movement, was forcibly removed by police, triggering protests by students across the country.
The Bhubaneswar demonstration was part of a nationwide campaign launched by the AIDSO, AIDYO and the All India Women’s Cultural Organisation against the alleged police excesses.
The protest in the City was led by Swayamprabha Nayak, Nasim Sarkar, Prabhamanjula Brahma, Bijayalakshmi Patra, Niyati Jana, Sunita Panigrahi and Rupali Digal, among others.
The allegations regarding the police action and the protesters’ demands are those of the organising student and youth groups. The statement issued by the organisers did not include any response from the Delhi Police or the authorities concerned.
Members of Utha Odisha and youth activists and students also staged a silent protest at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar, condemning the alleged police action against protesting students at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
