VIDEO: Pune Congress Stages Black Flag Protest Over Jantar Mantar Crackdown

Pune Congress leaders on Wednesday staged a protest outside Raj Bhavan, condemning the alleged police lathi-charge on students at Jantar Mantar and the detention of Congress leaders in New Delhi. Protesters waved black flags and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

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The protest was organised in response to the alleged crackdown on students who had gathered at Jantar Mantar seeking the resignation of Pradhan over the NEET paper leak issue. The protesters also condemned the detention of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during a protest outside the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi.

Addressing the media, Pune City Congress President Prashant Jagtap alleged that the Union government had failed to take responsibility for repeated irregularities in competitive examinations, particularly the NEET paper leak.

"We are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. For the past several years, hundreds of students have been driven to suicide due to immense pressure and irregularities in the education system. Despite being accountable for the NEET paper leak, the Education Minister has failed to take concrete action. Instead of addressing students' concerns, the authorities chose to suppress their voices through police action," Jagtap said.

Pune City District Congress Committee (West Division) President Deepti Choudhary also criticised the alleged police action against students.

"Such cruelty against students is unacceptable. The government has crossed all limits. Beating peaceful student protesters is unjustified. The youth of this country will respond democratically and hold the government accountable in the coming days," she said.