The Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress Committee (KPYCC) on Saturday took its anti-NEET campaigning on the streets, holding a torchlight rally in Bengaluru and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged leak of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) question paper.The protest was held at Freedom Park and was led by KPYCC State President HS Manjunath. Hundreds of students and youth participated in the demonstration, carrying torches and raising slogans against alleged corruption in the examination system and demanding a transparent investigation into the controversy.
The protest centers on the NEET controversy
The protesters raised slogans including “Save the Future of Students”, “Implement a Transparent Education System”, “Conduct a Fair Investigation into the NEET Scam” and “Provide Treatment to the Education System”.Addressing the meeting, Manjunath accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government of failing to ensure a transparent and credible examination system.“It is the responsibility of the Central Government to establish a transparent, corruption-free and credible examination system. However, the BJP-led Central Government has failed in that responsibility and has endangered the future of 2.3 million students. Also, it is responsible for the death of hundreds of students due to the NEET scam,” he said.He also criticized the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to praise Pradhan’s work in the education sector despite the ongoing controversy.“The Prime Minister praised the work of a minister who is responsible for the death of students due to the question paper leak. He did not even express condolences to the families of the dead students,” Manjunath said.
The ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign begins
The torchlight rally marked the first weekend of the Youth Congress’ ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign against NEET.The organization said the campaign will include interactive sessions, anti-NEET music concerts, motivational speeches, walkathons and outreach programs every weekend. Volunteers are also visiting colleges and universities to register students, with an enrollment target of 1.5 lakh participants.Speaking at the rally, Manjunath said the campaign will continue until the problems of the students are addressed.“No political gain is greater than the future of the students…the Youth Congress will continue to stand with the students until this movement reaches its logical conclusion,” he said.According to ANIYouth Congress National Secretary Tariq Bhagwan, State Legal Cell President Sridhar, Bengaluru North District President Rahul Gowda, Bengaluru South District President Monish Reddy, Bengaluru East District President Ram Nayak and other leaders also attended the protest.(with agency inputs)
