Pressure on student protesters wont work: Akhilesh Yadav slams 'arrogant' govt

Published 23 July 2026 · local

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the Centre of running the government with “arrogance” rather than democratic values and said pressure on student

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the Centre of running the government with “arrogance” rather than democratic values and said pressure on student protesters would not work. He said the government should admit its “mistake”, accept the demands of students and youth, and begin talks over the paper leak issue. Yadav also attacked the BJP over the handling of examinations and took a swipe at it over the Ram temple donation theft case, saying its idea of “accountability” appeared to be “the ability to fill accounts”. He was speaking to reporters at the Lucknow airport after returning from Delhi. Read Full Story Accusing the BJP governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh of failing to ensure fair examinations, Yadav said repeated paper leaks had put the future of lakhs of students at risk. “The matter is absolutely clear.

The government should accept the demands of students and youth. The minister himself admitted that there were irregularities in the (NEET) examination and that the paper was leaked. That is why the examination had to be conducted again,” he said. He said the re-examination itself showed that the authorities had failed to conduct the test fairly. “I don't know how many children's futures have been jeopardised. Paper leaks are not happening for the first time. There seems to be a competition between the Government of India and the Uttar Pradesh government over who can have more paper leaks,” Yadav said. Claiming the leaks were being engineered, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said, “These papers are not merely getting leaked, they are being made to leak so that students do not get jobs. Along with employment, the issue of reservation is also linked.” He said the Samajwadi Party would continue to raise the issue in the legislature until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.

“We will continue to raise our voice in the House until the minister resigns. The demands of the families of those children who lost their lives should also be accepted,” he said. On the government's refusal to accept the protesters' demands, Yadav said, “This is not a government, it is arrogance. They are running the government with arrogance. In a democracy, the government should listen to the people, understand what they want and at least hold talks with them. A solution can emerge through dialogue.” He added, “It is the government's responsibility. If the government resorts to injustice and tries to exert pressure, that pressure will not work. The government should accept its mistake and hold talks. It was because of its own mistake that the examination had to be conducted again.” Asked about the alleged Ram temple donation theft in Ayodhya, Yadav said the immediate focus should remain on the paper leak issue.