Indian exam protest forces parliament suspension, adding pressure on PM Modi

NEW DELHI, July 22: Opposition parties staged a protest at parliament on Wednesday demanding the resignation of India's education minister, echoing the demands of student demonstrators, before entering the chambers and forcing the suspension of proceedings.

The protests, which started last month over the leak of medical school entrance exam papers that affected some 2 million students, grew this week into the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014.

Tens of thousands of young protesters took to the streets of New Delhi on Monday, clashing with police who used tear gas and batons to push them back.

Opposition lawmakers led by Rahul Gandhi gathered outside the parliament building in New Delhi on Wednesday, many dressed in black and waving placards calling on Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to quit.

"Our children's future is not for sale", "Save lives, Stop NEET", the placards read, referring to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, as the medical school test is called.

They also shouted slogans against Modi and Pradhan.

Once inside parliament, opposition lawmakers demanded a debate on alleged police violence against student protesters and on the exam paper leak, forcing a temporary suspension of proceedings. Modi and Pradhan have said they are willing to debate the issue and broader education reforms.

On Tuesday, Gandhi's main opposition Congress party launched a sit-in outside the gates leading to Modi's residence. Police detained Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Vadra, and several other senior opposition leaders after they refused to end their protest, but released them late on Tuesday.

The protests by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began as an online satire and involved only a few hundred young people when they were first launched.

On Wednesday, more than 1,000 protesters gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site of the cockroach movement in Delhi, shouting slogans, waving the Indian flag and braving a drizzle. Media reports said CJP leaders were due to hold a second round of talks with a senior government minister since Monday.

Security remained high in the capital, and the Delhi Metro Rail Corp. said it was shutting 16 stations in the central areas until further notice due to security concerns.

The protests have also spread outside the capital, with demonstrations by youth and opposition groups being held in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram, Jammu and Ahmedabad.

Late on Tuesday, Pradhan, in his first comments since demands for his resignation were made, said that the government was committed to addressing the concerns of protesting youth and exam reforms.

"Our government remains 100% committed to discussing NEET and addressing every genuine concern of our youth on the floor of the House," he said in a post on X.

"The students of India deserve far better than being treated as props in a political campaign," he said, referring to Gandhi's protest.
Pradhan, 57, is a senior leader of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and has been regarded as a rising figure, with his name even mentioned to lead BJP in the past.-REUTERS