Days after after government’s assurance over action on irregularities in NEET (UG) examination, activist Sonam Wangchuk said on Monday that Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union Education Minister is only the beginning, calling for reforms in India’s education system.
Speaking to reporters after offering tributes at Rajghat, the 59-year-old said every person or a minister is answerable in a democracy, but hoped that the government would fulfil its promises. He also said he hopes that cases against protesters would be withdrawn.
However, he said action is necessary against those who were involved in unlawful activities during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests.
“Following the conclusion of this 26-day fast and movement, I wanted to come to Rajghat first to remember Mahatma Gandhi, to express my gratitude to him and to tell the country that the path he showed remains just as relevant and appropriate today as it was a hundred years ago,” Wangchuk said.
“For the past five or six years, we have been practising and applying this Gandhian method in Ladakh, finding it highly appropriate and relevant. Yet, I was unsure whether it would work at the national level. This time, I was reassured to see that it remains relevant at the national level even after a hundred years and will likely remain so for another hundred or even a thousand years to come,” he added.
Hailing the youth for achieving their goals during the protests, the engineer-turned-reformist said the agitation was successful as it was mostly peaceful. He said one must understand that if any resolution or achievement has been reached, it was neither “through the strength of arms, nor through the use of lathis or stones.”
“That is why I urge the people of India and the world to voice their grievances and appeals through the path of peace shown by Bapu. A solution is bound to be found. It may take time, but it does not end in darkness; we have witnessed this ourselves. Success may not come on the very first attempt, but it is usually achieved,” he said.
Wangchuk ended his hunger strike last week in presence of Union Ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, who assured him of action over NEET paper leak. Two days later, the CJP called off its agitation after the government accepted all of its demands and also following Pradhan’s resignation. The two sides, however, will hold another round of talks over reforms in the education sector.