Maha students demand accountability for paper leak

MUMBAI: Students across Maharashtra staged solidarity protests on Sunday in support of the massive demonstration in New Delhi led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), backed by Ladakh-based activist Sonam Wangchuk, demanding accountability over the NEET paper leak and the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan

MUMBAI: Students across Maharashtra staged solidarity protests on Sunday in support of the massive demonstration in New Delhi led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), backed by Ladakh-based activist Sonam Wangchuk, demanding accountability over the NEET paper leak and the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Mumbai, India - 20 June 2026: Several protesters gathered at Chaityabhoomi in Dadar in support of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) Delhi protest were detained by Mumbai Police, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, 20 July 2026. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Apart from Mumbai, demonstrations were held in Thane, Bhiwandi, Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Beed, Sindhudurg, Washim, Akola, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Parbhani, Amravati, Bhandara and Nandurbar, with opposition leaders joining protests at several locations.

In Pune, hundreds of students gathered outside the district collector’s office near the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, while students of the Film and Television Institute of India protested inside the campus. In Thane, demonstrators staged a street play highlighting the emotional and academic toll of paper leaks on students. Nagpur witnessed a peace march, while students in Parbhani observed a one-day fast.

The Nationalist Congress Party (SP), along with Shiv Sena (UBT), the Communist Party and students from Thane and Bhiwandi, marched to the Thane Collector’s Office.

Addressing protesters, NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad said students had united on their own and the movement reflected growing public anger. “Bhagat Singh was 27 years old, Rajguru was 26, and Sukhdev was also 26 – all college-going students. Once students’ minds are ignited, no one can stop them. This movement does not have the backing of any political party. A wave of public anger has begun, and the struggle to save the country has now started,” he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the Union government over its “brutal crackdown” on protesters. Referring to Anna Hazare’s 2011 movement, he said the BJP had then joined protests while the Congress government opted for dialogue. “When a regime points guns at young Indians demanding a better education system, it shows it is acting against the interests of the country,” he said.

State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule defended the government, alleging the protests were aimed at maligning Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the paper leak issue.