CJP protest echoes through at Imphal

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 23 : A large number of students, mostly medical aspirants, today staged a protest demonstration in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP) strong and sustained mass protest in Delhi and many other cities of the country.
Expressing solidarity and support to the CJP’s protest and Sonam Wangchuk’s (educator and environmental activist) hunger strike, a large number of students made a long line along Tiddim Road at Keishampat Leimajam Leikai and protested under the aegis of the Students Federation of Kangleipak (SFK).
The protesters used placards which read “We are future doctors, we will heal the country but first please heal the system that select us”, “No leak, only Merit”,  “Justice for Victims (suicide students)”, “NEET 2026 mega scam” and “Sonam Wangchuk, we stand with you”.
Chanting a number of slogans like “Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must step down”, “We condemn Delhi Police’s atrocity”, “We support Sonam Wangchuk” etc, the students marched toward Keishampat junction.
Police kept a sharp eye on the protesters as they took out the protest march.
At Keishampat junction, police blocked the students. Nonetheless, the protesters were allowed to voice their slogans there for some minutes after they assured the police they would turn back from there.
SFK general secretary Thokchom Roshan said that leakage of NEET question papers has severely betrayed the hopes of crores of medical aspirants apart from seriously undermining all their hard work, and this has ignited widespread protest across the country.
Roshan said that the National Testing Agency (NTA) should be held accountable for the unrest seen today in the country.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must be held responsible for the suicides committed by many medical aspirants, he added.
Joheb Iqbal, a medical aspirant, said that NEET is no ordinary exam but a decisive and crucial challenge which determines the fates and hopes of crores of students.
Every time NEET papers got leaked, years of hard work and all the hopes of lakhs of students were trampled, Joheb Iqbal said.
He also expressed keen desire for NTA to hold all future NEETs in a fair and secure manner without leaving any room for leakage of question papers.    
Meanwhile, the Minorities Students’ Association (MSA) Manipur has also joined the demand for resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The association said that a peaceful and democratic protest will be staged in Manipur with the slogans “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign” and “Restore peace in Manipur”.
The All India Youth Federation, Manipur State Council too has voiced unstinted support to the ongoing protest at Delhi and other States of India.
It said that the All India Youth Federation has been taking part in the protest and will continue supporting the protest until Dharmendra Pradhan steps down.