CHENNAI: Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday expressed solidarity with members of the Anti-NEET Federation, who have been on an indefinite hunger strike demanding a ban on NEET, during a video call with the protesters.
While four members of the federation were fasting initially, one of them, whose health deteriorated and who was admitted to hospital, has since withdrawn from the fast. The other three have been fasting for the past 10 days.
“When I had gone to Delhi to support the protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party, I had explained that banning NEET and bringing education under the State List were the only ways to resolve these issues. On Monday, members of the party’s Tamil Nadu unit met Abhijeet and informed him about our protest. He expressed solidarity with us over the phone and said he could not visit us in person due to his ill health,” said Manirathinam, brother of S Anitha, who heads the federation. He added that Aishe Ghosh, national joint secretary of the Students’ Federation of India, is also likely to join the protest on August 20.
On Sunday night, Health Minister KG Arunraj held talks with the protesters and urged them to withdraw the hunger strike, assuring them that the government would pass a resolution against NEET in the Assembly. However, he sought another 10 days to do so, which the protesters rejected.
The protesters said they would call off the hunger strike if the government passed the resolution within two or three days. They also demanded that the government allow them to hold a continuous protest at a public place against the union government.
