Student protest echoes in bypoll campaign as Opposition flags injustice to youth, OBCs, Dalits, minorities

Opposition parties leverage Prayagraj student protest against UPPSC to criticize BJP ahead of U.P. Assembly bypolls.

The recent Prayagraj student protest against the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission’s examination format has gained traction in the political arena, with Opposition political parties co-opting it into their campaign for the upcoming Assembly bypolls in the State. This is a chance to teach the BJP-led government a tough lesson for forcing students to protest, Samajwadi Party leaders said.

Connecting the protest to the alleged lack of employment opportunities, the Opposition alleged that there is continuing discrimination against students from Dalit, minority and backward class communities in the State even 75 years after Independence, due to the casteist mindset of the ruling party. “Go and see any [U.P.] university; still, more than 15% of people from PDA [Pichda, Dalit and minority] families are not getting appointments. This government is also discriminating in the posting of officers,” SP president Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday, addressing an election rally in Phulpur.

Mr. Yadav alleged that the UPPSC protest is an example of how the government is playing with the future of the youth. “This government deliberately leaks papers. A large number of youths are protesting in Prayagraj. These are the youth who will become officers tomorrow, this government has pushed them into the protest as well,” he said.

“If BJP only understands the maths of elections, then it should know that if competitive exam students like PCS/RO/ARO/LOWER SUBORDINATE and their family members are included, then this number is almost one crore. If we divide this huge number by about 400 Assembly seats, then BJP will lose about 25,000 votes in every Assembly seat, meaning that the BJP will be reduced to double digits in Assembly polls. In bypolls, they will see how the youth are against them as the BJP failed to give any employment opportunities to them,” he added.

The Congress also said that the UPPSC protest against single shift and single-day examinations has revealed the anti-student nature of the ruling regime which has tried to strangle the mobility of marginalised sections through higher education. “The student protest which took place amid the bypoll signifies that the BJP is always anti-student. Thousands of aspirants coming on to the streets is an eye-opener about the level of joblessness in our society. As far as higher education goes, it is known that the government has selectively neglected backward classes, Dalits, and minorities in appointments. The issue has been publicly raised numerous times by our party and leadership, and in this U.P. bypoll, this issue will again take centerstage amid recent protests,” said U.P. Congress general secretary Anil Yadav. 

Bypolls will be held in nine U.P. Assembly seats on November 20, including at Sisamau in Kanpur, Katehri in Ambedkar Nagar, Kundarki in Moradabad, Ghaziabad, Majhwan in Mirzapur, Karhal in Mainpuri district, Khair in Aligarh, Phulpur in Prayagrah, and Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar district.