NEET agitation enters new phase as street protests, Parliament stalemate feed into each other

Until now, the Opposition had largely played a supporting role in the student agitation over the NEET paper leak as its leaders visited protest sites or raised the issue in Parliament. Over the past three days, however, it has moved to the centre of the political battle, making the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan its main demand.

The change has been visible both inside and outside the Parliament. Two days after Rahul Gandhi joined a dharna outside the Prime Minister's residence, he led more than 100 MPs in a march to Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg, where Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. While students continued their protest at Jantar Mantar, the Congress also took to the streets in solidarity. It is one of the few occasions in recent years when the party's senior leadership has participated in sustained street protests instead of limiting its opposition to Parliament.

This has added a new political dimension to what began as a student movement over examination integrity. The Congress has tried to position itself as the political voice of the protesters, while the BJP has accused the Opposition of turning a students' issue into a political campaign.

The government's efforts to reach out to the protesters have so far failed to break the impasse.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that fast-track courts would be set up to hear examination leak cases and ensure the harshest punishment for those found guilty. Minister of State Jitendra Singh said the Centre had sent four proposals to student representatives for talks and remained open to dialogue at any time. However, the venue itself became a point of disagreement. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has emerged as the face of the protests, is learnt to have insisted that any meeting should take place at a neutral venue rather than at BJP president J.P. Nadda's residence or office, as proposed by the government.

Despite repeated messages from the Centre, no talks had taken place by Thursday evening.

The same deadlock was visible in Parliament.

In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition MPs invoked Rule 267 to seek a discussion on the examination controversy after suspending regular business. Their stand remained unchanged: any discussion had to begin with Pradhan's resignation. The government rejected that condition but said it was willing to hold a full debate in Parliament. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and other senior ministers repeatedly urged the Opposition to allow the House to function, arguing that Parliament was the proper forum to discuss the issue.

But neither side was willing to give way.

As a result, the first four days of the Monsoon Session were washed out. Proceedings in both Houses were repeatedly adjourned amid slogan shouting. The Treasury benches stood firmly behind the education minister, while the Opposition refused to settle for anything less than his resignation.

The confrontation on the streets and the stalemate in Parliament are now feeding into each other. Every day the protests continue, the Opposition finds more political momentum within and outside the parliament.

The question now is whether the government can calm one of the biggest youth agitations in recent years through dialogue and institutional reforms, or whether the Opposition can turn that anger into sustained political pressure, both inside Parliament and on the streets.