NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the strictest possible punishment for those responsible for the NEET paper leak and emphasised that preventing such paper leaks was a national responsibility, Minister Kiren Rijiju said quoting the Prime Minister after the NDA Parliamentary Party’s ‘Mangal Milan’ meeting on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister, Rijiju said, urged for collective efforts to build a foolproof examination system.
“The PM called on NDA partners to remain united in supporting legislative business and appealed to opposition parties to work constructively in parliament, saying that while political differences may exist, all MPs have a shared responsibility to work for the country’s future and the welfare of its youth,” Rijiju said quoting the Prime Minister.
The comments come a day after hundreds of protesters were tear-gassed and lathicharged and stopped from marching on parliament. The protesting students, led by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which emerged in May after the Supreme Court Chief Justice compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing, are demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation following alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, including the NEET paper leak.
The Monday protest came after activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing an abrupt end to his 21-day hunger strike in support of the movement launched by the CJP.
Later on Monday, Wangchuk said he would resume his hunger strike in hospital after seeing the “brutality with which peacefully protesting students are being dealt with”.
PM Modi did not mention the protesters in a public address before the start of the Monsoon Session of parliament yesterday.
The CJP said two of its leaders met Union Minister JP Nadda and submitted a letter spelling out their demands after the government reached out to them in the morning.
On Day 1 of the Monsoon Session, the Opposition protests over the alleged NEET paper leak and Ram temple donation theft issues disrupted the proceeding in both Houses of parliament.
