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Education reformer and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Sunday, June 14, called for a “bhay-mukt Bharat” (fear-free India) while addressing a gathering of around 400 people at Hyderabad’s Dharna Chowk during a protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP).
Speaking at the protest, Wangchuk urged young people affected by examination irregularities and question paper leaks to hold authorities accountable without fear. He said the country’s future should be shaped by educational advancement and environmental protection rather than recurring controversies surrounding public examinations.
The protest, like those organised by the CJP in major cities across India, focused on concerns over the NEET UG medical entrance exam paper leak, and the issues in the CBSE on-screen marking system which has affected students across the country. Slogans seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan were raised throughout the meeting.
CJP spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya said the protest was also intended to remember students whose lives had been affected by examination-related controversies and irregularities. He paid tribute to students who had lost their lives by suicide amid such crises and expressed support for youth demanding accountability from those responsible.
Dahiya also remembered Rohith Vemula, the University of Hyderabad research scholar whose death in 2016 sparked nationwide discussions on caste discrimination in higher education. Drawing parallels with Telangana’s history of student-led movements, he said the state had a strong legacy of youth participation in public causes, from the Telangana statehood movement to citizen-led campaigns to protect KBR National Park.
Political analyst and academic K Nageshwar argued that the Education Minister should accept moral responsibility for the examination controversies and step down. Criticising the Union government’s handling of economic and social issues, he cited youth unemployment, rising prices and concerns about women’s safety, while alleging that dissenting voices are often labelled anti-national or otherwise discredited.
Several protestors spoke about flaws in the education system being a major reason for joining the CJP in their demonstration.
Tenali Prakash, a man in his early fifties, told TNM that as the parent of a NEET aspirant, he viewed it as his responsibility to turn up. Prakash, along with his daughter Lavanya, came to Hyderabad from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh to join the protest.
“My daughter wrote the NEET exam and she did well. The exam getting cancelled is unfortunate. This particular movement should be welcomed. Across the world, India has the highest number of young people. Youth turning up in spades is a good sign,” he said.
Standing next to him, his daughter Lavanya said she could only join the protest in Hyderabad as any such demonstration would not happen in her home state of Andhra Pradesh. “We only know caste politics there. Take our CM Chandrababu Naidu, he hasn’t spoken one word on the NEET issue. YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy spoke only because he is in the opposition and needs the support of young people. NEET paper leak happened in 2024 as well. He did not speak about it back then,” she said.
Vennela, another protestor and an MBBS student was also concerned about the NEET UG leak. “Around 22 lakh students have been affected by this leak. The solution cannot be to just conduct the exam again. It takes an immense mental toll on the students,” she argued.
But even aside from NEET, education-related woes were brought up by protestors. Kaiwaly, a student, also brought up paper leaks in the UGC-NET. “The UGC NET paper leaked two years ago. The CUET PG paper got leaked and had several problems in it. The larger problem is with the National Testing Agency (NTA) which outsources all these exams to private vendors,” he said.
“Aside from the paper leaks, we are also protesting for the children of manual labourers,” said Harsha, another protestor. “There is no free or even subsidised education for them that is properly implemented. Neither the BJP nor the RSS have any interest in child centric education,” she concluded.
