‘Save Sonam Wangchuk’: Hyderabad civil society groups hold candlelight vigil, demand action on NEET row
People gathered near the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue at Necklace Road in Hyderabad on Thursday evening, July 16, to hold a candlelight vigil in solidarity
People gathered near the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar statue at Necklace Road in Hyderabad on Thursday evening, July 16, to hold a candlelight vigil in solidarity with activist Sonam Wangchuk and to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak. The gathering was held as activist Sonam Wangshuk’s hunger strike entered its 19th day. Organised by a coalition of civil society organisations, the protest began around 7 p.m. with participants lighting candles and raising slogans. As the evening progressed, more people joined the gathering. People carried placards reading ‘Save Sonam Wangchuk’, ‘Protect Student Rights’ and ‘Sack Dharmendra Pradhan’.
Slogans demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister echoed through the venue. A poster displayed at the protest listed three demands: protect student rights, scrap the Testing Agency (NTA), and remove Dharmendra Pradhan as Union Education Minister. Among those participating was Dinesh, a working professional, who criticised the handling of national entrance examinations. “We work day and night, pay taxes to the government, and yet it is unable to conduct an examination properly. What is even worse is that the government is not even willing to have a dialogue with those who are protesting, especially Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on a hunger strike for 19 days,” he said.
Sandhya, a teacher who joined the vigil, said broader public participation was needed. “Students are coming out and participating in these protests, but things will not change unless parents of lakhs of children also join the movement,” she said. chairman of the Telangana Education Commission, Akunuri Murali, who also participated in the protest, expressed concern over Wangchuk’s health and criticised the Union government’s response. “The silence of the Government of India is unacceptable. It appears as though they are waiting for something unfortunate to happen. Our demands are to protect Sonam Wangchuk, seek the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and call for an investigation into theNTA,” he said.
Murali also questioned the centralisation of entrance examinations under the NTA. He argued that States were capable of conducting their own entrance tests and said the Centre should limit itself to examinations for institutions under its jurisdiction. “The present system is overly centralised and goes against the spirit of federalism. State governments have the capacity to conduct their own examinations. The Centre need not take over that responsibility except for admissions to Central institutions,” he said.
The BriefWire