CPI(M) condemns police action on students
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday strongly condemned the police action against students and youth protesting at Jantar Mantar during a march to Parliament, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the disbanding of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Security forces resorted to a lathi-charge and used tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators who had gathered following a call by student and youth outfits over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in the NEET examinations. Several protesters sustained injuries in the clash, which also witnessed police action near the CPI(M) headquarters at Gole Market.
In a press statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau alleged that the police carried out “ferocious attacks” on peaceful demonstrators at the behest of the Union Home Ministry. The party accused the Centre of adopting a dictatorial approach and refusing to engage in dialogue despite a month-long nationwide protest.
“The paranoid Government, instead of being accountable for the growing mess in education and the pathetic situation of unemployment, has refused to have a dialogue with the protesters,” the statement read, warning the Union Government that repressive measures would fail to suppress the growing anger among the country’s youth.
The party reiterated its demands for the immediate resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the dissolution of the NTA, and the unconditional release of all detained student activists.
Expressing solidarity with the protesting students, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby lashed out at the Union Government for suppressing democratic protests.
“The brutal police action on students peacefully exercising their democratic rights at Jantar Mantar is unacceptable. Instead of fixing accountability for the NEET mess and addressing the grievances of millions of aspirants, the Modi Government is using police force to brutally crush student voices. Dharmendra Pradhan must step down immediately on moral grounds,” MA Baby said.
