Protest at Dharna Chowk calls for education reforms, Minister’s resignation

Members of the Cockroach Janata Party and other organisations staged a protest demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged exam irregularities. Activist Sonam Wangchuk called for accountability and systemic reforms to strengthen India’s education and examination framework.

Hyderabad: Slogans, including ‘samvidhan zindabad’ and ‘we want justice’, filled the air as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) members, along with other organisations, staged a protest at Dharna Chowk here on Sunday, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak and irregularities related to the CBSE’s on-screen marking system.

The protesters also raised slogans like ‘Resign Dharmendra Pradhan’. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who participated in the protest, made it clear that the agitation was not a bid for political power or to challenge any political outfit, but to raise public awareness and safeguard citizens’ rights.

---

The movement was initiated not to become an Education Minister or to form a party but to correct the wrong that is happening, particularly with the youth, in the country, he said.

Wangchuk wanted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to take accountability for the systemic lapses. He noted that the agitation is not limited to just exams, but to strengthen its foundation for which a roadmap will be developed.

“Not just fixing the broken system, or bringing in a new, bright system. We will discuss this further. But today, the biggest problem that has arisen is that of exams, in which they are getting cancelled, in which they are getting leaked, in which everything is going wrong,” he added.