'Govt Never Stopped Youth From Protesting': Nirmala Sitharaman's Response To NEET Agitation

Published 26 July 2026 · local

'Govt Never Stopped Youth From Protesting': Nirmala Sitharaman's Response To NEET Agitation Published By, Last Updated: July 26, 2026, 20:41 IST Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

'Govt Never Stopped Youth From Protesting': Nirmala Sitharaman's Response To NEET Agitation Published By, Last Updated: July 26, 2026, 20:41 IST Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government "didn't try at any point in time to stop the protest." Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (File photo) A day after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) announced the withdrawal of its agitation, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the government had never “stopped" the youth from protesting. Sitharaman made the remarks while responding to a question from NDTV Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal on whether the protests had caught the government off guard, during the Business Leadership Awards 2026. ‘Young People Want Change’ “Give respect to the protest. We have not stopped them from protesting.

The permission was given… We didn’t try at any point in time to stop the protest," the Finance Minister said. “Well, I’m not undermining their energy. But the young in every generation join protests," she added. The BJP leader, an alumna of Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), long known for its vibrant student politics, said she understood the emotions driving young protesters. “I’m not undermining what happened in the last couple of weeks. You rightly recalled that when I was in JNU and I’m sure generations before me and generations after us will still do it, the young get very touched by things which are not ideal," she remarked. Pradhan’s Exit Ends CJP Agitation CJP, the satirical political group that spearheaded the protests over exam paper leaks, called off its agitation on Saturday after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from the post of Education Minister.

Pradhan’s resignation had been the group’s primary demand. Sitharaman said the youth expected “good, responsive, correct measures" taken in a timely manner and that their willingness to protest reflected the spirit of young people. “They want good, responsive, correct measures, timely measures and that’s only right. And therefore they tend to protest because they think they should make the difference and I’m happy for it because that’s the spirit of the young. I have no second opinion on that," she added. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry.