A candlelight march was held in Shimla on Saturday to celebrate what participants described as a victory for students following the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak controversy and alleged irregularities in CBSE examinations.
The march, organised by the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee as part of similar protests held across the state, drew Congress leaders, CPI(M) activists and a large number of residents. The march commenced from the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, passed through the Mall Road and culminated at the Ridge Maidan, where participants lit candles near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. They also raised slogans against the BJP-led Centre.
The participants paid tribute to students who had died by suicide following the NEET paper leak controversy and demanded greater transparency in the examination system, safeguards for students’ future and accountability for repeated paper leaks.
Addressing the gathering, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation should have come much earlier. “The resignation should have come much earlier, which would have spared the protesting students the inhumane treatment they faced in the form of a lathi-charge,” he said.
Sukhu said the protests at Jantar Mantar were not merely aimed at securing the Union minister’s resignation but at demanding accountability for repeated examination paper leaks. Describing the candlelight march as a tribute to students who lost their lives following the controversy and those who endured police action while protesting, he said the demonstration reflected solidarity with the country’s youth.
{{/usCountry}}Sukhu said the protests at Jantar Mantar were not merely aimed at securing the Union minister’s resignation but at demanding accountability for repeated examination paper leaks. Describing the candlelight march as a tribute to students who lost their lives following the controversy and those who endured police action while protesting, he said the demonstration reflected solidarity with the country’s youth.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking to reporters, Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Vinay Kumar alleged that a paper leak racket had flourished under the BJP-led Centre, casting a shadow over the credibility of examinations such as NEET and CBSE.
Kumar also demanded strict action against all those responsible for jeopardising the future of lakhs of students.