Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Saturday linked the alleged police action against activist Sonam Wangchuk during his hunger strike in Delhi to Congress neta Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against paper leaks, alleging that the Centre was trying to suppress voices raising the issue of irregularities in competitive examinations.“Wangchuk was on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in support of students and youth protesting alleged paper leaks, including NEET, echoing the concerns being raised by Rahul Gandhi through the party’s “Chhatron Ki Goonj” campaign,” State Congress president Ajay Rai said.He alleged that Wangchuk was forcibly removed from the protest site by police and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.Calling the action “undemocratic”, Rai said: “Govt should have listened to the demands of students instead of acting against a peaceful protester.”He demanded a thorough investigation into the alleged NEET paper leak and sought the dismissal of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, holding him accountable for repeated irregularities in competitive examinations.Accusing the BJP-led Centre of stifling democratic dissent, Rai said every citizen has the constitutional right to protest peacefully and alleged that govt was attempting to silence those raising issues concerning students and youth.
