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'Good sense prevails': CJP after Tamil Nadu CM Vijay's govt withdraws order against student protest
As per the now-withdrawn order, officials were asked to take “appropriate coordinated action” to prevent students and youth from joining such protests.
Youth-led political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday welcomed the decision by chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government to rollback the order barring students from joining protests.
“Good sense prevails,” CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das wrote on X after Vijay government withdrew the order.
The controversy started after the Tamil Nadu's College Education Department asked officials to take joint action to prevent students and youth from government arts and science colleges from joining protests organised by Left parties and the Tamil Nadu Cockroach Janata Party (TNCJP).
The TNCJP, reportedly led by Tamil Nadu-based lawyer C Brahma Balasubramaniam, is a group that has approached the Election Commission seeking registration as a regional political party. Its members say they want to focus on issues such as social justice and the rights of workers, students and farmers in the state and are inspired by the mainstream Cockroach Janta Party movement but is a separate organisation.
The controversial anti-protest order
As per the now-withdrawn order, officials were asked to take “appropriate coordinated action” to prevent students and youth from joining such protests. The notice said the matter was “very urgent”.
The department referred to a government letter dated August 14 which called for coordination between the School Education, Higher Education and Police departments, as well as district administrations.
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Minutes later, the department withdrew the directive. Joint Director of Collegiate Education Cynthia Selvi P said the department’s earlier communication on the matter had been rolled back.
The Tamil Nadu government directive came in the backdrop of massive student-led agitations demanding examination and educational reforms across the country.
Student-led protests across the country
Last month, CJP-led Gen Z movement against paper leaks and other irregularities in competitive examinations such as NEET took root across the country, with activist Sonam Wangchuk backing the students with an indefinite hunger strike.
The protest ended after Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down as the Union education minister, one of the core demands of the protesting students.
Similar protests rocked Jharkhand where the Hemant Soren government faced growing anger of the job aspirants upset over exam irregularities and paper leaks in the 14th JPSC Civil Services Examination.
The Ranchi protest gained even more prominence recently with CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke lending his support to students.
On Tuesday, JMM-led government issued notifications cancelling 22 recruitment exams and ordering a probe into 23 others conducted by the state public service commission and an outsourced agency since 2014.
The protesting students took out 'Abhar Yatra' on Wednesday from Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium, the protest site, to Albert Ekka Chowk. Hundreds of students from across the state participated in the procession.
"This is the result of a 16-day hunger strike and 24 days of 'satyagraha'. The 'satyagraha' started on August 24, and the hunger strike on August 2," student leader Devendra Nath Mahto was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
