Abolish Exam Fees, Decentralise NEET: Congress Outlines Charter for Nationwide Student Stir

The movement, according to the Congress party statement, seeks to unite students beyond political affiliations and provide a platform for affected youth to share their experiences and demand accountability for “repeated examination failures and paper leak scandals”.

Briefing about the campaign, AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said, “The Congress party will also seek a comprehensive discussion in Parliament on the crisis confronting India’s youth and advocate legislative measures to protect their interests, rights and future.”

Mr Venugopal said Mr Gandhi will conduct a series of large student conventions starting with Kota on June 17. Thereafter, the Lok Sabha LoP will hold similar conventions in Allahabad on July 10, Patna on July 11 and Delhi on July 14, bringing together students, aspirants, youth organisations, educators and all those directly affected by the alleged examination scandals.
“The campaign will highlight the hardships faced by millions of young Indians whose futures are being repeatedly jeopardised by paper leaks, rising examination costs and the government’s failure to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment and education system,” Mr Venugopal said.

As part of the Congress’ nationwide campaign, the party will reiterate Mr Gandhi’s call to mobilise students through extensive outreach by National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Youth Congress, Pradesh Congress Committees, district Congress committees and local units across the country, Mr Venugopal said.
According to the Congress statement, physical and digital invitations, campus outreach, interactions at coaching centres, universities, schools and youth hubs, social media campaigns, live screenings and direct engagement with students will be undertaken on a massive scale.
“Reflecting Mr Gandhi’s conviction that the aspirations of young Indians must not be sacrificed to corruption, incompetence or political indifference, the movement will seek to unite students beyond political affiliations and provide a platform for affected youth to share their experiences and demand accountability for repeated examination failures and paper leak scandals,” the Congress said.

The Congress general secretary said the movement will take to the streets the demands earlier articulated by Gandhi, including the decentralisation of Neet, abolition of examination fees, strict legal action against those involved in paper leak rackets and accountability at the highest levels of government, including the resignation of the Union education minister.

“Having repeatedly raised these issues, Mr Gandhi has made the defence of merit, fairness and the availability of equal opportunity to our youth a pressing matter of national importance,” Mr Venugopal said, adding that the party will seek a comprehensive discussion in Parliament on the measures to protect youth’s interests.

Mr Venugopal further said that under the guidance of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the empowering leadership of Gandhi, the Indian National Congress has announced the first phase of a nationwide campaign against the “growing crisis of paper leaks, examination irregularities, unemployment and the systematic betrayal of India’s youth by the Modi government”.

The party had on Thursday announced its plan to launch a nationwide campaign to corner the government on rising prices, unemployment, alleged examination paper leaks and “electoral manipulation”. The decision was taken at a meeting of the general secretaries, state in-charges and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents held at the party headquarters under the chairmanship of Mr Kharge.

Mr Venugopal earlier said the campaign against the “failures” of the Modi government will begin soon and continue for the next two-three months. The nationwide campaign, he said, was aimed at holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi accountable and making him answerable to the people of this country