Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken for the first time amid protests over a leak of national exam papers, calling on Tuesday, July 21, for building a foolproof public-examination system across the country, Reuters reported.
On Monday, police clashed heavily with supporters of the youth-led “Cockroach” (Telapoka) movement during a march toward Parliament.
According to Kiren Rijiju, Modi said everyone must work together so that the future of young people is not harmed in any way — that strict measures must be taken, the guilty punished and a foolproof exam system built so such incidents do not recur.
Anger over the paper leak
More than 2 million students were affected by the leak of the medical-entrance exam papers held in May. Protesters say several students died by suicide because of it.
In response, thousands of young people marched toward Parliament on Monday demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and the situation turned tense as clashes with police broke out. Delhi Police said at least 180 people were injured — 118 police and security personnel and 60 protesters. Abhijit Deepak, founder of the movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), claimed more than 150 protesters were being treated in hospital.
No more marches for now
On Tuesday, the CJP said it would continue its anti-government movement but would hold no more marches on Parliament for now, fearing further police action.
Tension over Sonam Wangchuk
The movement gained fresh momentum after the support of environmentalist and social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who began a hunger strike on June 28. Police forcibly took him to hospital on Saturday.
Talks with the government, three demands
The CJP said that after a meeting with two of its leaders on Monday, Union Health Minister J P Nadda sought time to discuss their demands with the government. The protesters’ main demands are the release of Sonam Wangchuk, the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and 10 million rupees in compensation to the family of each of about a dozen students who died by suicide following the paper leak.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report