The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) has expressed solidarity with students protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and strongly condemned the police lathi charge during the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ march, in which several protesters were reportedly injured.
In a statement, the union said the ongoing hunger strike by Sonam Wangchuk, who is currently undergoing treatment at Medanta Hospital, along with the continued protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), reflected the concerns of lakhs of students and their families whose futures had been affected by what it described as a compromised examination process. It said such issues should be addressed through accountability and dialogue rather than “batons and detentions”.
“A student demanding a fair examination system is not an enemy of the state,” AAPSU president Meje Taku said, adding that when such demands are met with “lathis and tear gas”, it is “the system that was supposed to protect them” that is failing.
Referring to previous student movements, Taku said Arunachal Pradesh understood the consequences of ignoring the voices of young people and would not remain silent while students elsewhere were allegedly assaulted for raising legitimate concerns.
The students’ body described Wangchuk’s demands as “modest and reasonable”, including accountability for the alleged NEET paper leak, an assurance that the issue would be discussed in Parliament and a guarantee that no student or protester would face retaliatory legal action. It also said the CJP’s demand for ministerial accountability deserved a direct response from the Centre.
“A hunger strike from a hospital bed is not a threat to the nation, it is a mirror held up to it,” Taku said, urging the government to “respond with dialogue, not silence”.
AAPSU warned that continued inaction could deepen public dissatisfaction, stating that a protest centred on one examination could grow into a broader nationwide movement if the government continued to rely on force instead of engagement.
The union said it has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging immediate dialogue with the protesting students and Wangchuk. It also cautioned that if the Centre failed to respond, it would organise statewide protests across Arunachal Pradesh in solidarity with the demonstrators at Jantar Mantar.
“Let this be clear: if the government does not pay heed in time, this will not remain confined to Delhi. It will spill over,” Taku said, adding that Arunachal Pradesh would “make its voice heard on the streets as well” if dialogue did not begin soon.
Appealing for an immediate response, AAPSU said students across the country “deserve answers, not batons”.
