“I have come here so that when it is finally my turn to write competitive exams, they don’t get leaked,” said a Class X student who stood amid chanting crowds at Lucknow’s Eco Garden on Friday. “It’s upsetting for every young person in this country that exams are not being held properly.”
Nearby, Prashant Rana, who had come from Badaun, said, “We expect the government to talk about our issues and not religion.”
These voices echoed through Eco Garden as hundreds of students and government job aspirants assembled to protest alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
The crowd included candidates preparing for teaching, medical, revenue, administrative and other government recruitment examinations, many of whom had travelled long distances seeing messages on social media. They were later joined by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke.
Addressing the crowd, he said, “If it becomes necessary to go to jail, I will be the first to go, but no one will back down.”
Lucknow: A police official argues with Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke during a protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in Lucknow, Friday (PTI)
The demands
Among several demands, protesters called for greater transparency in examination processes and sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
A majority of students were protesting against two competitive exams held in Uttar Pradesh in the last three months. Their demands: release of scorecards for the Uttar Pradesh Police Sub-Inspector examination held on March 14-15, whose results were declared on May 7; cancellation of the Lekhpal recruitment test conducted on May 21 over what they claim are irregularities; and greater transparency in recruitment processes.
A similar protest over these demands was held in Prayagraj on May 29, where students had warned that they would march in Lucknow on June 12 if authorities failed to respond.
It was also alleged that three coaching institutes, whose owners participated in the march, had their centres sealed. The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), however, claimed the buildings were operating without completing mandatory formalities.
Dipke, meanwhile, reached Eco Garden around 2 pm. Extending his support to the ongoing protest, he said, “I have come here to support all the students and teachers who are protesting. The students are demanding that the UP Lekhpal exam should be conducted again, and the alleged irregularities in the UP SI exam should also be investigated.”
“There is no exam left whose paper has not been leaked,” he added, demanding that Pradhan resign.
Voices from the protest
Jitendra, a protester who hails from Jaunpur district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, said he was preparing for the UPSC examination in Prayagraj and had come all the way to Lucknow along with his friends.
Among several demands, protesters sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
“I came here because I felt this would give us the platform to put forward the issues of students before the government — to ensure that our exams are conducted fairly and results are given fairly,” Jitendra told The Indian Express.
Asked if he supports the CJP protest, he said he would support all those who raise students’ issues.
Another student, Aman Verma claimed, “We have been demanding the cancellation of the Lekhpal exam… over irregularities. Most of us had also given the UP SI examination but instead of declaring the score card, we were just told which roll number cleared and which did not.”
Asked if he came following the call by the CJP, he said, “Our protest was pre-decided but we would support them on the issue of paper leak as it is the same issue.”
The Class X student was there with her father, Gurmeet Singh, a businessman from Lucknow, and family. He said, “We have come here for our youth, along with our children.” He said they have been following the CJP Instagram page, “so we felt a moral obligation that we should also stand with them”.
“There are many issues, but the biggest one is the Right to Education. The government is unable to provide even that basic thing to everyone. We have come to fight for that very right.”
Candidates preparing for teaching, medical, revenue, administrative, and other government recruitment examinations were among the protesters who gathered in the morning. (Express Photo) 
Lucknow: A police official argues with Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke during a protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in Lucknow, Friday (PTI)
Among several demands, protesters sought the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
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