Govt ignoring student protests, treating them like criminals: Congress

Congress's Sandeep Dikshit slammed the Centre for ignoring student protests and treating them like criminals. CJP's Saurav Das also condemned an FIR against a woman for using abusive language against PM Modi during a protest over the NEET paper leak.

Students' Concerns Being Ignored: Sandeep Dikshit

Senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit on Saturday lashed out at the central government, alleging that the concerns of students protesting across the country for the last two months are being ignored. Speaking to ANI, he stated that while the use of abusive language against anyone is wrong, the treatment of students as criminals is unacceptable. "The issues raised by students are not being addressed. For the last two months, students have been protesting on the streets across the country against government policies. Abusive language used against anyone is condemnable. But students are being treated like criminals," Dikshit said.

His remarks came days after Noida Police registered an FIR against a woman over allegedly objectionable comments directed at the Prime Minister during the CJP's 'Sansad Chalo' march held over the NEET paper leak.

CJP Criticises FIR Against Protester

Earlier on Friday, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief spokesperson Saurav Das criticised the registration of a Zero FIR against a woman from Noida for using abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. He said that using the criminal justice machinery to target and harass people is unjustifiable and questioned why similar action is not taken against MPs facing criminal charges.

Speaking to ANI, Das said, "One might condemn the use of abusive language during a protest. However, using the criminal justice machinery to target and harass them through the police is absolutely unjustifiable. Since when has using abusive language become a criminal offence in this country? People use such language in everyday life all the time. 50% of the MPs in the Lok Sabha face criminal charges, including heinous ones like rape, murder, and dacoity, yet no action is taken against them."

"You simply want to single them out and make an example of them. This is utterly condemnable. I once again appeal to the government and its police machinery to stop harassing the youth. Stop targeting young people in this way, and leave this girl alone. Such misuse of the police force in these kinds of cases is completely unacceptable," he further said.

'Misuse of Criminal Machinery'

In a post on X, Das said that the police should focus on MPs facing criminal cases instead of targeting young people. "The misuse of criminal machinery against Ruchika Singh is unacceptable. Profanity does not attract a criminal case. 50% of Lok Sabha MPs have criminal cases against them, close to 100 MPs in the BJP. The Police can focus their energy towards them, not a 25-year-old! Harassment of the young must STOP immediately!" Das said.

PM Modi Addresses Controversy

On Saturday, PM Modi also addressed the controversy in a video shared on Instagram, acknowledging the public outrage over the language used during the protest while urging people to respond with guidance rather than punishment. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)