The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) has announced plans to intensify its nationwide protests over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and has renewed its demand for the removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The youth wing of the Congress said it would launch a fresh phase of agitation across several states, including Maharashtra, Telangana, Assam, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. The campaign will include torchlight marches, student outreach programmes, demonstrations and gheraos.

According to the IYC, the protests are aimed at highlighting concerns over paper leaks, examination-related irregularities and administrative lapses in recruitment and entrance tests. The organisation also raised questions over the awarding of examination-related contracts to entities it described as questionable.

IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib is scheduled to visit multiple states as part of the campaign. IYC in-charge Manish Sharma said the organisation would continue its protests until accountability is fixed and those responsible are removed.

Chib accused the government of failing to address concerns raised by students and alleged that repeated examination controversies had adversely affected young aspirants. He said the organisation would continue to press for the removal of the education minister.

The next phase of the campaign will include torchlight marches, “Halla Bol” rallies, student interaction programmes, district-level mobilisation drives and protests outside the residences of BJP leaders and chief ministers.

The Union Education Ministry has previously stated that steps have been taken to strengthen examination processes and improve transparency in recruitment and entrance tests.

The announcement comes amid continuing political debate over the conduct of public examinations and recruitment tests, an issue that has prompted protests by opposition parties and student groups in recent years.

Inputs from PTI

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