Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress on Wednesday targeted the BJP-led Center over the alleged NEET paper leak, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and accusing the government of suppressing the voice of students by refusing to allow a debate in Parliament.
Addressing a press conference here, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had fulfilled his commitment to students by addressing the issue inside and outside Parliament.
Gandhi will continue the agitation until the Center puts in place a foolproof examination system, he said.
The Congress leader said Gandhi had launched the nationwide ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ campaign, visited Kota and Dehradun to interact with students and expose the alleged corruption in the examination and coaching system.
He said the Congress had promised the students that the matter would be raised in Parliament and the government would be forced to introduce a foolproof mechanism to prevent repeated paper leaks.
Sapkal said Parliament should hold a comprehensive discussion on the issue and fix responsibility for repeated examination irregularities.
Referring to Gandhi’s protest in Parliament, Sapkal alleged that the Congress leader was forced to stage a demonstration after the government did not allow a discussion on the issue. He described the protest as peaceful and democratic, saying the demonstrators were unarmed and had not used violence.
“The treatment meted out to Rahul Gandhi was not just an insult to him, but to every student, every parent and every citizen of the country,” Sapkal said, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s forced removal on Tuesday from his protest site near the Prime Minister’s residence and his subsequent detention.
The Congress leader also condemned the alleged police action against student protesters in Delhi, accusing the authorities of using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators, including women. He apologized to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the incident.
Accusing the BJP of undermining democratic institutions, Sapkal alleged that the ruling party was leading the country towards authoritarianism, while the Congress would continue to defend the Constitution through peaceful democratic protests.
He said that the state Congress had organized protests in all the districts of the state and that party leaders would march to the BJP office in Mumbai to symbolically present a copy of the Constitution as a sign of their commitment to protect constitutional values.
Sapkal said the Congress, along with its allies Maha Vikas Aghadi, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), will further intensify the agitation across Maharashtra in the coming days.
Earlier in the day, the Congress staged a demonstration in Nagpur, with leaders like Sunil Kedar, town chief Prafulla Gudadhe and village chief Ashvin Bais joining the protest.
The opposition has demanded a discussion in Parliament on the NEET paper leak issue and is also demanding Pradhan’s resignation for handling the controversy over alleged exam irregularities.
The youth-led Buburreci Janta Party (CJP) is also protesting to demand education reforms and Pradhan’s resignation over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in key national entrance exams.
