NCP (SP) protests outside Mumbai University over police action on CJP march and Sonam Wangchuk’s removal

The NCP (SP) staged protests outside Mumbai University on Monday against police action on CJP marchers and the removal of hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk in Delhi. Protesters demanded Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged NEET irregularities

Mumbai: The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Monday held a protest outside Mumbai University against alleged action by police on those taking part in the CJP-led march to Parliament and the removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar amid his hunger strike.

They also sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in connection with alleged irregularities in the education sector and exam paper leaks.

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The protest, led by NCP (SP) Mumbai unit president and former MLA Milind Anna Kamble, youth wing Mumbai president Amol Matele and Vaibhav Gadhave outside the Mumbai University campus, saw the participation of party workers and students, who raised slogans against the Centre.

The police action against peaceful protesters is an attack on democracy, Kamble said while accusing the Union government of suppressing dissent. He also said Pradhan must resign.

“If the government fails to act, the youth of the country will respond democratically and hold it accountable,” Kamble said.

The NCP (SP) also criticised the removal of Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. He was taken forcibly to Safdarjung Hospital by police on the 21st day of his hunger strike.

He has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28 in support of the CJP-led protest over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and the reported deaths of students linked to the controversy.

NCP (SP) youth leaders Matele and Gadhave warned that the agitation would be intensified if the government did not stop “the suppression of democratic protests”.

State NCP (SP) president Shashikant Shinde, who participated in the protest in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, said the NEET paper leak caused loss to lakhs of students and drove them into the abyss of despair. It resulted in 21 aspiring doctors ending their lives, Shinde alleged.

Far from taking moral responsibility for this incident, the treatment meted out by the NDA government and administration to Wangchuk is one that would shame even a tyrant, Shinde added.

“The NCP (SP) has launched a protest against the ruthless, irresponsible, and insensitive NDA government that toys with students’ futures, suppresses their fight for justice, and deliberately ignores their demands,” he said.