CORRESPONDENT
AGARTALA: Police resorted to a lathi-charge and used water cannons to disperse a large number of Youth Congress workers who were attempting to proceed towards the official residence of the Chief Minister. The protesters were demonstrating against the alleged repeated leakage of question papers for NEET, CBSE and other examinations and demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Several people sustained injuries in the police action before hundreds of protesters were detained.
Pradesh Congress President Asish Saha alleged that the police resorted to a lathi-charge without any provocation and said the BJP government would not be able to stop the agitation by using force. He claimed that several Youth Congress workers sustained serious injuries and had to be hospitalised.
He alleged that the BJP government had destroyed the future of lakhs of youths in the country and was now trying to suppress public anger through coercive measures. The procession started from in front of Congress Bhawan at Post Office Chowmuhani and proceeded towards the Chief Minister's residence to submit a memorandum. Police stopped the march in front of IGM Hospital, but the protesters allegedly attempted to break through the barricades. The standoff continued for a long time before the police resorted to a lathi-charge. Tension escalated further when the protesters allegedly tried to breach a second barricade, prompting the police to again resort to a lathi-charge.
The Youth Congress has launched a month-long agitation against question paper leaks and other issues. The PCC president said the agitation would continue despite what he described as police atrocities. He added that similar protest programmes would be organised in other districts of the state, culminating in a statewide rally in Agartala.
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