Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday reached the CJP protest site at Jantar Mantar to express solidarity with Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike.
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While “paying salute” to Wangchuk, Kejriwal said the activist was ready to “put his life at stake” for the students of the country, and further proposed his name as the next education minister. “Dharmendra Pradhan ko hatao aur Sonam Wangchuk ko desh ka shiksha mantri banao (Remove Dharmendra Pradhan, make Sonam Wangchuk the education minister),” Kejriwal said. Kejriwal also recalled his 2011 movement with Anna Hazare. “The Prime Minister is afraid that Wangchuk might do revolutionary things,” the AAP leader said.
Wangchuk and the Cockroach Janta Party are holding a protest at the site, demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET exam paper leaks.
“Sonam Wangchuk is a very big educationist. He has gone on hunger strike before as well for Ladakh,” the AAP national convenor added.
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Addressing the crowd at Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal said the paper leaks have “crippled the confidence of the students.” Kejriwal said that he too gave the IIT exam and cleared it, adding that his two children had also been educated from the same institution.
“Competitive exams are a dream for students. They enter exam halls with the belief that they will build their future on their hardwork,” the former Delhi chief minister asserted, adding that paper leaks were “dangerous for the country”. He further criticised the accused in paper leaks being granted bail, highlighting the example of the key accused in the 2024 paper leak.
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Kejriwal further urged the government to “listen to the youth” and listen to the cockroaches”, saying the system has to change to prevent further student suicides. The AAP national convenor urged people all over the country to join the July 20 march to Parliament announced by the CJP. Kejriwal was also accompanied by AAP leader and former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, who also urged the people to join the march to Parliament. While calling for the education minister’s resignation, Bharadwaj also took a jibe at the BJP-led government, joking that they should not make Smriti Irani the education minister if they remove Pradhan.
