Top News

Lucknow, Jul 24 (PTI): Protests in support of the ongoing agitation over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, especially NEET, were held at several places in Lucknow on Friday with student groups, lawyers and opposition parties demanding accountability and reforms.

Scores of youths participated in a protest march carrying banners, placards and the Tricolour, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and stronger measures to prevent paper leaks during competitive examinations.

The Congress organised a candlelight march from the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters to the Mahatma Gandhi statue at GPO in solidarity with the ongoing protests in Delhi.

A group of advocates also marched from Swasthya Bhawan crossing towards Parivartan Chowk, protesting against the alleged police lathicharge on demonstrators in Delhi.

More than 300 people later took out a march from Parivartan Chowk in support of the NEET agitation.

The Samajwadi Party also stepped up its campaign on the issue. Large hoardings put up outside the party's Lucknow office displayed photographs of party president Akhilesh Yadav and Lok Sabha MP Dimple Yadav participating in the students' protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. The hoardings also featured images of the leaders interacting with protesters and alleged police action during the agitation.

Meanwhile, teacher recruitment aspirants staged a protest outside the residence of Uttar Pradesh Minister Sandeep Singh over reservation-related demands.

One of the protesters alleged that the affidavit filed by the state's Basic Education Department before the Supreme Court in the reservation matter contained manipulated facts, and demanded that it be corrected and refiled to ensure justice for the aspirants. PTI KIS RUK RUK

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)