New Delhi: The Bihar Police resorted to lathicharge, water cannons, and tear-gas shells to disperse students protesting against the NEET paper leak and demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in Patna on Wednesday. Students marched from Gandhi Maidan to Dak Bangla Chauraha and Kotwali police station, heading toward Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhari’s residence when police intervened.
“We are protesting for students’ rights. Someone should be held accountable. All the students in the country are furious about the education system’s situation. The resignation of the education minister is demanded by the students,” Sumit Yadav, a BPSC aspirant who was part of the protest, said.
Six police teams along with additional forces were deployed on the site.
Students arrived on the road with posters which read, “Har Pariksha me Bhrastachar, Zimmedar hai Modi Sarkar” (Modi government is responsible for the corruption in all the exams).
This protest was led by the student union All India Students’ Association (AISA). During this time, traffic was completely disrupted, and people faced significant inconvenience. Apart from the paper leaks, the organisation also voiced against ‘corruption’ in the education system, privatisation of education, and the repeal of the Patna University Act, 1976.
It stated that universities should not be run like government offices and that the democratic rights of students, teachers, and staff should be protected.
“We have seen enough. It’s not just NEET. There is not a single government job exam that happens without issues. Sometimes it leaks, sometimes technical errors. They don’t take our future seriously,” Mohini Chaudhary, another student protesting in Patna, said.
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Protests beyond Delhi
At many sites, the protest turned violent. While at some places, police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowds, at other places reports of a mob attacking vehicles of political leaders had emerged. In a viral video, a mob can be seen pelting stones at the vehicle of an MLA.
While the students were on their way to the CM’s residence, the police erected barricades at several locations. The protesters, however, defied orders and continued, which led to a confrontation between the forces and the students.
As the situation on Raj Bhavan Road escalated, police first used water cannons to disperse the crowd, followed by a lathicharge. Several students, police officers, and some journalists were injured during the clashes.
The Cockroach Janta Party protest has spread beyond Delhi. Student groups are holding demonstrations in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Guwahati, Aizawl, Itanagar, Jammu, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.
In many cities, students have marched in solidarity with those camping at Jantar Mantar. Their demand is the same—accountability for the NEET paper leak, reforms in the examination system, and the resignation of Pradhan. While most protests have remained peaceful, violence has been witnessed in Delhi and Patna.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)