Very soon, it might not be limited to Pradhan, CJP's Ranka says on resignation demand

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said rising anger over the NEET controversy could soon move beyond demands for Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. He said protesters were seeking accountability, compensation and withdrawal of cases as the agitation spread across the country.

In Short

• Protesters sought compensation for families affected by the NEET controversy
• They also demanded withdrawal of legal cases filed against protesters
• CJP spokesperson calls mounting public discontent a 'ticking thing'

In an exclusive conversation with India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai, Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the anger over the NEET controversy was growing across the country and warned that the issue was becoming a “ticking thing”, with the discontent potentially extending beyond the demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.

“This is a ticking thing. This is not something that can go on for weeks and months because there are protests happening all over the country,” Ranka said.

“More you wait, more the discontentment grows, more the anger grows and now increasingly that discontentment, that anger is being directed at the prime minister,” he added.

Ranka said the demand for Pradhan's resignation remained non-negotiable, but warned that the growing anger could soon go beyond the minister.

“So this government also needs to understand that very soon this might not even be limited to Mr Pradhan,” Ranka said.

Ranka said the protesters were also seeking compensation for families affected by the NEET controversy and the withdrawal of legal cases against protesters. He claimed there had been an in-principle agreement on the two demands during discussions with government representatives.

On Pradhan's resignation, Ranka said the government delegation had not ruled out the possibility of the minister resigning or being asked to leave, claiming that the issue would be taken up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Responding to the Prime Minister's remarks on proactively acting against paper leaks, Ranka questioned why the government had taken nearly two months to respond to the controversy.

“The prime minister had to wait for 45 days since the first protest happened. Prime minister had to wait for almost two months in the NEET paper got leaked for him to get proactive,” Ranka said.

He said the protesters wanted accountability and structural reforms in the examination system, but argued that such reforms could not be discussed while the person heading the ministry remained, in his view, responsible for the current crisis.

Ranka also said the movement had expanded beyond the Cockroach Janta Party, claiming that protests were being held across the country and that growing public anger was increasingly being directed at the government.

- Ends