Ballari Students Protest Police Action on Sonam Wangchuk, Demand NTA Abolition

Members of the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO) held a protest near OPD Circle in Ballari on Saturday, condemning the alleged forced removal of educationist and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk and other fasting protesters by the Delhi police. The demonstrators also called on the Union government to initiate immediate democratic talks with the protesters.

AIDSO district president K. Eranna alleged that repeated irregularities in examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), including NEET-UG, had jeopardised the future of lakhs of students across the country. He noted that the ongoing hunger strike led by Sonam Wangchuk had entered its 20th day and that the government’s failure to engage in dialogue reflected what he termed an anti-democratic attitude.

Eranna criticised the police action in removing Wangchuk and other fasting protesters without holding discussions, describing it as undemocratic and authoritarian.

AIDSO district secretary Kambali Manjunath said it was the duty of a democratic government to listen to the grievances of the people instead of resorting to repression. He stated that the forced removal of Wangchuk from the protest site amounted to a betrayal of democratic values and reflected an inhumane approach towards citizens exercising their democratic rights.

Manjunath urged students and the public to strengthen the ongoing movement and called upon the government to stop suppressing dissenting voices and immediately begin discussions with Wangchuk and the other protesters.

The protesters demanded that the Centre hold immediate democratic talks with Wangchuk and the fasting protesters, that the Union Education Minister resign over alleged examination irregularities, and that the NTA be abolished.