Stirrings of Protest Felt in Tamil Nadu Too

Chennai: The excitement of protests against the NEET paper leak controversy, which has shaken the national capital to a great extent since July 20, was also felt in Chennai and some other parts of Tamil Nadu, but the police kept a close watch on educational institutions and prevented the excitement from spreading to campuses and State offices of CPI and CPM, where youth and students gathered to express their anger and shout slogans.

Heavy police pickets were posted along Marina Sands to prevent a repeat of another riot similar to the pro-Jallikattu protest in 2017, and police even dispersed small groups of youth standing near the beach. Any group of young people who gathered at the venue were viewed with suspicion and were not allowed to linger around by the police.

Even as students gathered at the college premises to stage agitations in support of protesters all over Chennai in New Delhi and other parts of the state, the police ensured that the protesters did not come out of the colleges.

Balan Illam, the CPI’s state headquarters in T Nagar in Chennai, has been swarming with youth activists and students since anger intensified in New Delhi, triggering a series of protests at Jantar Mantar, Lok Kalyan Marg and other places. The protests continued for the fourth day on Thursday, the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), the youth wing of the CPI, said in a statement on Thursday.

Youths and students in Chennai protested at Balan Illam in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata Party, which has attracted political leaders and popular film stars like Prakash Raj, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, demanding abolition of NEET, resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and spearheading the New Delhi protests, leading to arrests.

CPM’s State headquarters, also in T Nagar, also turned into a protest venue; Youth wing members like SFI gathered there to vent their anger. However, they were locked in the party building because the police did not allow them to go out as a group.

A press release from AIYF stated that all political parties except the BJP supported the protests demanding the abolition of NEET and people from all walks of life visited Balan Illam to support the protesters sitting in the building.

TNCC has announced that a public meeting will be held behind T Nagar bus stand at 5.30 pm on Saturday to condemn the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for committing violence against students and youth peacefully protesting in New Delhi.

A TNCC press release stated that TNCC president Manickam Tagore, Vaiko of MDMK, Minister of State A Rajmohan of TVK, Minister R Vanniarasu of VCK and other Ministers of State like S Rajeshkumar and P Viswanahan and representatives of other alliance parties that are part of the ruling coalition in the state led by TVK will attend the protest meeting.