Protests against the paper leak are growing in the states

What started as a protest at Jantar Mantar against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak more than a month ago snowballed into a nationwide agitation on Thursday (July 23, 2026) as student outfits, civil society groups and political parties took to the streets demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while criticizing the crackdown on protesters in Delhi.

In Chennai, protests sought the scrapping of NEET. Amid the ongoing agitation by the Cockroach Janta Party-Tamil Nadu and the All India Student Federation (AISF) at the Communist Party of India office, the Neelam Student Movement also staged a demonstration. The Democratic Youth Federation of India, Students Federation of India (SFI) and more than 500 students of New College in Royapettah in the heart of the city joined the cause.

Across Kerala, the SFI took out protest marches that turned confrontational in several districts as police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds. Marches were held in Kochi, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur, while protesters clashed with police in Kasaragod and faced water cannon in Palakkad and Kannur.

“Hello Lok Bhavan”

A ‘Chalo Lok Bhavan’ protest organized by student/youth organizations in Andhra Pradesh turned tense after the police stopped them midway. They said the proposed bandh of educational institutions on Friday would be intensified and the agitation would continue in phases until the education minister resigned.

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Bhim Army activists tried to march towards the Governor’s residence, clashed with police after stopping and were detained. The Sanyukt Chhatra Manch organized a march in Prayagraj which led to a brief confrontation with the police. Protests were also held in Ghazipur, Varanasi, Ballia and Azamgarh.

Chandigarh unit of Aam Aadmi Party extended support to activist Sonam Wangchuk and demanded Mr. Pradhan’s resignation. Party workers and social activists in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh criticized the police action in Delhi.

In addition, the student agitation in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore gained momentum as more students, teachers and parents joined the protests in Delhi, leading to heavy police deployment. Student groups voiced their grievances in Bhopal. Hundreds of working professionals, organizations like Dalit Sangharsha Samithi and All India Students’ Association (AISA) gathered in Karnataka, Bengaluru to express their distress.

The protests in Delhi also resonated in the northeastern states. In Assam, student organisations, including the All Assam Students’ Union, the All Assam Minority Student Union and the All Assam Tribal Students’ Union, came together. Students, activists and political leaders sought education reforms in Guwahati, where the protest was organized under the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP). The rally was held in Arunachal Pradesh’s Itanagar, Meghalaya’s Shillong and Mizoram’s Aizawl. Meanwhile, the BJP Assam unit staged a counter-protest in Guwahati against the Congress meeting outside the Prime Minister’s residence in Delhi.

Several cases

In Bihar, police registered several cases against more than 600 unidentified protesters for vandalizing public property and Wednesday’s protest march in which several policemen were injured. More than 40 students were detained in Patna.

Security personnel resorted to baton attack against stone pelters in Katihar and Begusarai. Protests were also organized in Bhagalpur and Darbhanga districts and marches in Patna, Munger, Sheikhpura and Vaishali. In Patna, members of AISA and All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) extended support to those who gathered at Jantar Mantar.

Activists of the Jan Sangharsh Manch Haryana and Students Organization for Socialist Democracy took to the streets in Haryana’s Kurukshetra. The leaders of all the main Khap Panchayats in the district met and in Jindu the District Bar Association suspended work for a day in support.

Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur saw the police book nearly a dozen Congress workers under the non-bailable provision.

The youth wing of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a demonstration in Odisha where all opposition parties intensified their agitation along with students’ outfits. In Maharashtra, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) house witnessed chaotic scenes as opposition parties demanded a discussion on police action against agitators in Delhi. Various student wings like AISA and SFI organized rallies in several localities of Kolkata.

Published – 24 Jul 2026 0:51 IST