Mumbai: Hundreds of students and youth took part in protest marches and demonstrations all over Maharashtra and Mumbai, to express solidarity with the agitation Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activists in New Delhi for various demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In Mumbai thousands marched before converging at the Shivaji Park in Dadar this afternoon carrying banners, placards, the National Tricolour and some with copies of the Constitution, as part of the CJP’s nationwide call for peaceful protests today. They were joined later by Shiv Sena (UBT) President and ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Amit Thackeray, and many civil society activists like Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and Anjali Damania among others. The leaders expressed full support to the agitators in Delhi, Maharashtra and all other states where similar demonstrations were held today in support of the CJP. Aaditya asked “whether you will support those who rake up Hindu-Muslim to divert attention from burning issues”, and the crowds roared their ‘NO…!’ Amit said that the political parties have become the fans of the youngsters whose voices have reached the power corridors of New Delhi and appealed to them to remain firmly united. “The enthusiasm of the youth was amazing, the atmosphere was electric and all had assembled with the common objective of safeguarding their future. Even after the stage events ended, the youngsters continued their action in groups and more were seen marching to the venue till late,” Gandhi told ‘The Perfect Voice’ from the site. Film Personalities Many film personalities joined the youngsters, expressed their solidarity with the CJP in Delhi and the ongoing nationwide protests over the examination irregularities and demands for greater accountability. Some of the celebs who attended were actors Atul Kulkarni, Imran Khan, Gurfateh Sing Pirzada, Ayesha Khan, Pratibha Ranta, Dilin Nair, alias ‘Raftaar’, Akasa Singh. Yesteryear actress Shabana Azmi was scheduled to join the protest, but dropped out at the last-minute owing to ill-health, and some others could not reach the venue owing to rains or heavy traffic. Besides the protest site, many other celebs like Sonu Sood, Preity Zinta, Sonakshi Sinha, Pooja Bhat posted messages online of their support calling for accountability, empathy and peaceful dialogue, while actors Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem and others joined the protest today at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. GenZ swarms in districts Thousands of students and youth, along with their parents, participated in the CJP-backed nationwide protest call with the slogan of ‘Every District. One Day. One Demand’ in support of the agitation in New Delhi for nearly a month, in different parts of the state. Besides Mumbai, marches, rallies, demonstrations and slogan shouting were witnessed in Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur, Solapur, Kolhapur, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Sangli, Latur, Akola, and others. However, in some districts like Thane, Palghar and Nashik, torrential rains derailed similar planned action. A large number of lawyers, social workers, joined padyatras in Parbhani and Chhatrpati Sambhajinagar on Friday while in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur and Kolhapur, local political parties and NGOs participated in large numbers in the protests. The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies have called for a non-partisan, peaceful protest march from Siddhivinayak Temple to Shivaji Park culminating in a Tricolour rally on Sunday. The organisers have appealed to the masses to participate in large numbers to safeguard the future of the youth and only carry the ‘Tiranga’ as it is a national movement. Mother of NEET aspirant who ended life addresses gathering in Nagpur The mother of a NEET aspirant who allegedly committed suicide in May addressed a protest event in Nagpur on Friday and sought the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for exam paper leaks and other irregularities. The protest, in support of the Cockroach Janta Party-led agitation in New Delhi, saw hundreds of youth gathering at Samvidhan Square here. Speaking at the protest event, Neelam Chaturvedi sought justice for her daughter Akanksha Chaturvedi, who ended her life allegedly due to distress and depression caused by the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam after a paper leak. "The children who committed suicide cannot be brought back," Neelam Chaturvedi said while seeking compensation for the kin of such students. She also sought the resignation of Pradhan and PM Modi. Akanksha, a native of Mauganj district in Madhya Pradesh, was preparing for the NEET at a coaching institute in Nagpur. However, a week after the announcement about cancellation of the May 3 exam, she was found hanging in her room at their home here on May 20, as per police. Congress takes students battle to villages Lending a political hand to the protesting youth in the country, the Congress today announced a statewide agitation with candle marches and satyagrahas reaching every district and villages on Saturday. Claiming that 152 examination papers had leaked in different parts of the country in the past decade, state Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal accused the BJP governments of failing to plug the systemic loopholes or heed the genuine concerns of lakhs of students worried about their future. “We shall mobilise public support for the protesting students on the examination glitches, the high-handed crackdown on the youngsters demonstrating peacefully. Instead of safeguarding the students’ future, the government is protecting the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan,” Sapkal said. Reiterating the party’s main demands listed out by Congress Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi yesterday, Sapkal slammed the Maharashtra government for excessive force on the students in Mumbai, threats to frame them in fake drug cases and outraging the modesty of even a woman protester. “This ‘police raj’ is a blot on Maharashtra. The CM Devendra Fadnavis calls himself a ‘Devabhau’, but he behaves more like ‘Duryodhana’. The social activist Anna Hazare has finally found his voice, but the CM keeps mum,” said Sapkal in a swipe. Chants of Azadi and Vande Mataram During the 'Tiranga Morcha', organised by the Uddhav Thackeray-led party at the Shivaji Park, its leader Aaditya Thackeray said he called Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, urging him not to return home in Maharashtra until Dharmendra Pradhan steps down from his position. Speaking at the gathering, Uddhav Thackeray said while the government has the power of 'lathis', the protesters have 'tirangas' (tricolours) in their hands. At Shivaji Park, the participants raised slogans of "Azaadi (freedom) from dictatorship and paper leaks" with 'Vande Mataram' being played in the background. Some of the protesters carried the posters of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and chief architect of the Constitution Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Uddhav Thackeray said those in power should see the number of people who have turned up for the protest. "This is 'jan ki baat' (voice of people) and Delhi has to listen to it. The way students were attacked, tear-gassed, I am cautioning the government - you can have lathis, but we have tirangas. Let's see who wins - those with tirangas or lathis," the former Maharashtra chief minister said. Aaditya said although activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk has ended its indefinite hunger strike, the protest will continue. "Dharmendra Pradhan must resign," he said. He urged the youth to freely hold protests at the Shivaji Park irrespective of the police detaining several protesters days ago. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Sena (UBT) MLA said whenever the PM gets scared, he talks about Hindu-Muslims and religion. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Amit Thackeray, son of party leader Raj Thackeray, said the government was on the backfoot due to the GenZ protests. Actor Arya Babbar also took part in the protest.
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