AGARTALA: The student movement against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar will not stay confined to Delhi, Student Federation of India (SFI) state secretary Srijan Deb warned on Sunday evening, as flag-waving activists marched out of Chattra Yuva Bhavan in Agartala with one demand: resign.
Carrying white flags and a banner that read “Gyanesh, It’s Done Bro, Now Resign”, SFI Tripura activists took to the streets in step with the agitation at Jantar Mantar, organised by AISA, SFI and DYFI.
“Today, we, the Students’ Federation of India, have gathered here, and there is only one reason for our gathering. We are demanding from here that Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately,” Deb said.
Alleging that Kumar acts on the BJP’s orders, Deb said, “Gyanesh Kumar is being directed by the BJP, who are hijacking our country’s democracy. The constitutional system of our country is being broken and crushed. It is no longer possible for him to remain in this important post in any way.”
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Then came the warning. “If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign, our student movement will grow larger, the youth movement will grow larger. In the coming days, this movement will also spread in our state,” he said.
Deb pointed to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned on 25 July after weeks of student protests in Delhi over exam irregularities, particularly the NEET-UG paper leak. “Pradhan had to resign due to the pressure of the students. In the coming days, Gyanesh Kumar will also have to resign, and SIR must be stopped immediately,” Deb said.
On the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, he claimed, “You know that the names of 13 crore people across the country have been deleted through SIR. Through this policy, the democratic rights of the people of our country are being hijacked. The BJP and Gyanesh Kumar, colluding with each other, are carrying out this conspiracy.”
Deb ended with a promise. “SFI will escalate this fight in the coming days. We are prepared for a long-term fight,” he said.
