JAMMU, Jul 13: The District Congress Committee, Jammu Urban on Monday organised a strong protest march from Khalsa Chowk to Shivaji Chowk, Nanak Nagar, Jammu.
A large number of Congress leaders, workers, Congress activists and local residents participated in the march, carrying placards and raising slogans against the NEET paper leak, demanding the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu & Kashmir and highlighting various issues concerning unemployment, inflation and the rights of the people.
The protest was led by Working President Raman Bhalla and former Minister Yogesh Sawhney District President Jammu Urban Along with Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma, Ex MLC Th. Balbir Singh, Manmohan Singh Ex DCC President, Satish Sharma, Amrit Bali, Sanjeev Panda, Dwarka Choudhary, Jatinder Chib, Bhushan Kumar, Pardeep Bhalla, Latish Sharma, Gurmeet Singh, Ajay Kumar, Jatin Vashist, Sandeep Dogra, Kulbhushan Sharma, Happy Randhawa, Sneha, Sofia, Balwinder Singh Rinku and others.
Addressing the gathering, Working President PCC Raman Bhalla said the BJP Government has repeatedly failed the youth of the country by allowing scams and irregularities to creep into the education system, destroying the dreams of lakhs of deserving students. He said the repeated paper leaks and examination controversies have eroded public faith in competitive examinations and no accountability has been fixed despite widespread outrage. Demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhalla said moral responsibility cannot be avoided when the future of an entire generation is at stake.
On the issue of Jammu & Kashmir, Bhalla said the people have been waiting for the restoration of full statehood for nearly two years despite repeated assurances from the Centre. He said the Congress Party has consistently led the movement for statehood by taking the issue from Parliament to Jantar Mantar and to every district and block across Jammu & Kashmir. He asserted that the people cannot be deprived of their constitutional and democratic rights indefinitely and vowed that the Congress Party would continue its peaceful struggle until full statehood is restored and the rights of the people are fully protected.
Also speaking on the issue, Yogesh Sawhney said the Modi Government has completely failed to protect the interests of students, unemployed youth and the people of Jammu & Kashmir. He alleged that repeated examination scams have exposed the collapse of the country’s recruitment and examination system, leaving honest and hardworking students frustrated and uncertain about their future. He demanded a transparent, fair and corruption-free examination mechanism along with exemplary punishment for all those involved in the NEET paper leak.
Sawhney further said that the restoration of full statehood is not a favour but the constitutional right of the people of Jammu & Kashmir. He criticised the continued delay in restoring democratic powers to the elected representatives and said the Congress Party would continue to intensify its public movement until the Centre fulfils its commitment. He also urged the Government to address growing unemployment, inflation and other public issues instead of diverting attention from the real concerns of the people.
Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Sharma also addressed the gathering. He criticised the Central Government over rising unemployment, inflation, repeated examination scams and the continued delay in restoring statehood to Jammu & Kashmir. He reiterated that the Congress Party would continue to fight democratically for the rights of students, youth and the people of Jammu & Kashmir until justice is delivered and their genuine demands are fulfilled.
Senior Congress leader Th. Manmohan Singh also condemned the government stating that this government is creating more problems for the public than it is solving. The students, the poor, the middle class are all in distress due to incompetence and corruption prevalent in the incumbent government at the center. They are ignoring major issues like the NEET examination issue, or the statehood issue and Congress will not sit quiet until the public’s demands are met.