New Delhi, July 22 — NDA leaders on Wednesday defended the Union government's handling of recent anti-NEET leak protests in the national Capital and accused Opposition parties of politicising student issues and creating disorder. However, they agreed that the Centre should hold dialogue with the protesting students.
BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh said the NDA government should engage with protesting students and address their grievances.
Singh said the protesting students were citizens of the country and their concerns should be addressed through dialogue. “The government can talk to the students about everything. They are not just Rahul Gandhi’s children; they are the children of this country, and they are also the government’s children. So, the government should engage with them. If there has been any lapse, then regret should also be expressed,” he said.
However, Singh alleged that Opposition groups, including the Left, had taken over the student-led agitation and moved it away from its original purpose.
“Rahul Gandhi, or the Left and others, have no role in this. They have hijacked the students’ movement because on their call nothing is going to happen. Students from all over the country came and participated in that protest, now it has been misdirected,” he claimed.
Speaking about the Jantar Mantar protest, Singh said he had observed the demonstration closely as his residence is located near the protest site. “The entire protest was happening at my doorstep. My house is at Jantar Mantar, and I watched it from morning to evening,” he said.
He added that the movement was started by students with a genuine intention but was later influenced by political groups. “I would like to tell students that your protest was for a good cause, I support it, but it got hijacked by the Left and Right groups,” Singh said.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Rahul Sinha also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his protests, alleging that the Opposition party was trying to raise issues despite having a history of corruption allegations.
“They think they have found an issue now. But Congress has committed so many scams, and Rahul Gandhi should think about those first. Only then should he think about staging a dharna or holding protests. The entire Congress regime has been full of scams,” Sinha claimed.
On the NEET examination controversy, Sinha said the matter had already come to the government’s attention and authorities were looking into it. “The NEET examination issue has already taken place, and the government is certainly thinking about it. Rahul Gandhi does not need to worry about it,” he added.
Meanwhile, JD(U) leader Umesh Kushwaha criticised the Congress protest near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence a day after the students demonstration at Jantar Mantar and the police action against them, alleging that Opposition leaders attempted to create disorder instead of raising issues through democratic channels.
“What happened yesterday has never been seen in the country's history. In a democracy, everyone has the right to express their views, but no one has the right to take the law into their own hands. If they want to raise issues concerning students, the government is ready to discuss them in the House. Instead, they tried to create chaos,” Kushwaha said.