Thane students march to Collector Office to protest NEET paper leak
Students and opposition political parties marched to the Thane Collector’s Office on Sunday to protest the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak. The demonstrators demanded accountability from the central government and the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest at the Thane Collector's Office was part of a coordinated, statewide mobilization. Similar demonstrations took place in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Parbhani, and several other districts across Maharashtra. These local actions were organized in solidarity with a major protest in New Delhi led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and supported by Ladakhi activist Sonam Wangchuk.
In Thane, students from the local area and neighboring Bhiwandi took to the streets, staging a street play that depicted the severe academic and emotional toll that frequent paper leaks impose on competitive exam aspirants. The students were joined in their march by members of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Communist Party.
Addressing the protesters in Thane, NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad praised the students for organizing independently. He stated that the movement arose from genuine public anger rather than political orchestration, comparing the young protestors to historic youth icons like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev.
The protests drew sharp political reactions from both sides. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray criticized the Union government's handling of the student demonstrations, accusing the administration of using a brutal crackdown against young Indians who are merely demanding a better education system. Conversely, State Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule defended the government, alleging that the opposition-backed protests were designed to malign Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Beyond Thane, the student agitation manifested in various forms across the state. In Pune, hundreds of students gathered near the statue of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar outside the district collector’s office, while students at the Film and Television Institute of India protested on their campus. Nagpur saw a peaceful march, and students in Parbhani observed a one-day fast to register their protest.
