Bhubaneswar, May 28 (IANS) Odisha Congress on Wednesday staged a massive protest in Bhubaneswar against the alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Hundreds of activists led by Chhatra Congress leader Bibhuti Bhushan Mohapatra, under the banner of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), took out a torchlight rally from the Pradesh Congress Committee office towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state headquarters in the city.

However, police personnel stopped the procession midway near Banadurga Temple, leading to a tense face-off between the protesters and the police for nearly an hour.

The agitators also burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dharmendra Pradhan during the demonstration.

On the occasion, Mohapatra alleged that the future of around 22 lakh students had been affected due to the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination.

He further stated that the Union government remained in deep slumber despite leaks of question papers of nearly 90 important examinations during the last 10 years under the PM Modi government, allegedly affecting around 6.5 crore students directly and indirectly.

The NSUI leader also alleged that question papers of as many as 41 major recruitment examinations for around one lakh jobs had been leaked during the last five to seven years, impacting nearly 1.40 crore aspirants.

Targeting Dharmendra Pradhan, Mohapatra alleged that repeated incidents of question paper leaks occurred during his tenure as Union Education Minister, but no effective corrective measures were taken to prevent them.

He stated that the sale of question papers during the PM Modi government had pushed the future of students into darkness.

Mohapatra added that the careless manner in which the NEET-UG examination was conducted had deeply distressed the student community across the country.

The Chhatra Congress leaders also demanded the abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA), alleging that repeated controversies surrounding examinations had eroded the agency’s credibility.

Demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister on moral grounds, Mohapatra said Pradhan should also be brought under the purview of the investigation into the alleged NEET irregularities.

Earlier in the day, Mohapatra and Chhatra Congress leader Spandan Swain addressed a press conference at the Pradesh Congress office, strongly criticising the Centre over alleged examination irregularities.

Mohapatra further stated that the Chhatra Congress would continue its agitation against the alleged NEET scam under the leadership of NSUI President Vinod Jakhar and with the support of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhakta Charan Das.

The torchlight rally was inaugurated by Bhakta Charan Das and attended by several Congress and Chhatra Congress leaders and activists.

–IANS

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