Within just 70 days, an incident related to the education system came to light, which shook not only the education system but also the politics of the country. Thousands of students took to the streets and heated exchanges were witnessed between the opposition and the central government. Meanwhile, CBSE’s OSM controversy came to the fore and the students’ movement also led to the emergence of a new political platform Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which supported the movement at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Apart from this, the students’ movement also got the support of the opposition parties and all of them were adamant on the demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, which has now happened. Let us know what happened in these 70 days, what turns there were, which made the entire incident a national issue.
This movement started when allegations of paper leak in NEET UG examination came to light. After this, students raised questions on the fairness of the examination and then protests started across the country. Initially, this movement was limited to the demand of re-conducting the NEET examination and action against the culprits, but later the movement changed its form and the demands of the students kept increasing. After this, the government started investigating the case and many accused were also arrested. However, despite this the students remained adamant on the movement. He said that mere arrests are not enough, but accountability should also be fixed.
The movement took political form
As the students’ movement intensified, opposition parties also started raising their voice in support of the students. After that, the issue of paper leak started echoing everywhere from the streets to the Parliament. Meanwhile, many opposition leaders demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and made various allegations against the government. Meanwhile, Abhijeet Deepke formed a new political platform named Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which jumped into the movement in support of the students.
Delhi became the center of the movement
Delhi became the biggest center of this student movement, where the agitating students also marched to Parliament, in which a large number of students participated. During this period, there were clashes between the protesters and the police on several occasions, in which many students and many policemen were injured. Incidents of violence also came to light during the demonstration around Connaught Place. According to Delhi Police, stones and bottles were thrown at security personnel during the protest and many policemen were injured in this violence. The police claimed that police officers were being deliberately targeted.
Government and opposition came face to face
On the issue of paper leak, the government said that strict action will be taken against the culprits and there will be no compromise with the interests of the students. Leaders of the ruling party alleged that the opposition was trying to take political advantage of the students’ movement, while the opposition said that the government was avoiding accountability. Congress, Samajwadi Party and other opposition parties continuously demonstrated and demanded the resignation of the Education Minister.
Sonam Wangchuk’s entry in the movement
Social activist Sonam Wangchuk started a hunger strike on June 28 by joining the students’ demonstration at Jantar Mantar. He remained on hunger strike for several days. During this period, when his health deteriorated, he was also admitted to the hospital. Sonam Wangchuk also had many demands, the first of which was that no action should be taken against the students involved in the movement and accountability should be ensured in the examination system.
Pradhan resigns amid protests across the country
Demonstrations of students had started not only in Delhi but across the country, including many districts of Bihar and Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhopal, Hyderabad and Chennai. Amidst these protests and increasing political pressure, Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post of Education Minister. After this, statements of many leaders of opposition parties came out, in which they called it a victory for the students. Along with this, CJP also announced to end its protest at Jantar Mantar.
Also read: CJP’s 5 point charter and government’s retained guarantee…the movement ended on these conditions
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