NEW DELHI: Protesting over alleged irregularties in NEET-UG exam, several members of the Congress’ students wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), forcibly entered the NTA’s head office and locked it from the inside
Visuals from the scene showed a large crowd of NSUI members chanting slogans such as “NTA band karo” (shut NTA) and “NTA murdabad” (down with NTA).
“Students across the country are suffering due to the inefficiencies and negligence of the NTA. The frequent postponements and paper leaks are not just administrative failures. They are a direct attack on the future of our youth. We demand that the NTA be banned and a more reliable, transparent system be put in place....From tomorrow, we will lock NTA offices all over India if our demand to ban the NTA is not met,” NSUI national president Varun Choudhary said.
Lathicharge
Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Thursday said several of its members were lathi-charged and detained by the police when they were protesting against NEET “paper leak.”
Police sources said the protestors held the demonstration near Parliament and tried to break the barricades. The IYC had planned the “gherao” of Parliament.
“Thousands of IYC workers have come out on the streets of Delhi today, becoming the voice of students suffering from the atrocities of paper leak,” IYC chief BV Srinivas wrote on X.
“Police have lathi-charged the IYC workers who were protesting peacefully against the paper leak! The lathi inflicted on each of our comrades will be duly answered,” he added.
The NEET-UG exam, which was held on May 5, has been mired in controversy with allegations of cheating and impersonation. The Union Health Ministry has postponed the NEET-PG 2024 examination, with new dates to be announced soon.The Centre has replaced the NTA chief and formed a committee to review and improve its functioning. The Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear petitions related to the issue on July 8.
Jantar Mantar
Various student outfits under the banner “India against NTA” staged the second day of their indefinite sit-in at the Jantar Mantar.
The students gathered in large numbers at the Jantar Mantar carrying ‘dhaplis’ and posters and banners with slogans like “justice for NEET applicants “, “NTA’s failure puts our future in danger” and “paper leaks have one solution, NTA’s dissolution”.
Several newly elected MPs like CPI (ML) Liberation MP Raja Ram Singh also protested in solidarity with the students and addressed the gathering.
The protest was jointly staged by left-backed student groups, such as the All India Students Association (AISA), Delhi University’s Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), and the Disha Students organisation.
On Wednesday, the student outfits started the protest at the Jantar Mantar and were detained later for attempting to continue the demonstration for the entire night. Police detained over a dozen students from the siteas staging a demonstration after 5 pm is not allowed.