Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 20 (PTI) CPI(M) veteran Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday condemned the police action against student protesters in New Delhi, alleging that the BJP-led Centre was “suppressing” democratic dissent.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan alleged that “democracy is being trampled on the streets of Delhi” and accused the Centre of failing to address alleged corruption and mismanagement in the conduct of national entrance examinations.
The former CM claimed the Centre had itself admitted to question paper leaks but failed to establish a foolproof examination system or bring those responsible to justice despite repeated lapses.
Vijayan alleged that the question paper leak, the cancellation of the examination and the subsequent re-test had caused immense mental distress among students, with some even taking their own lives.
He said protests had erupted across the country as repeated irregularities in national entrance examinations were jeopardising students’ futures. Instead of addressing the issues through dialogue, however, the Centre was attempting to crush peaceful protests, he alleged.
Alleging that students marching peacefully towards Parliament were met with barricades and excessive force, Vijayan said the government’s response reflected the BJP and Sangh Parivar’s intolerance of democratic protests.
He demanded that the Centre accept full responsibility for the examination irregularities, take exemplary action against those responsible, implement comprehensive reforms to restore students’ faith in the examination system, and uphold democratic rights.
Vijayan’s remarks came in the wake of police action against protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party’s “Sansad Chalo” march, which demanded accountability for the alleged examination irregularities, reforms to the examination system and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. PTI LGK SSK
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