Prior to University of Delhi issued an advisory asking students to avoid the ongoing protests across the city and avoid Jantar Mantar, the theater directorate. Pooja Bhatt strongly condemned the move. He said the organization should stand up for students’ “freedom of speech” instead of trying to suppress it.
DU requests students to avoid unauthorized gatherings
On Thursday, Delhi University issued a social media advisory asking all students to avoid “unlawful gatherings,” including the protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The message said, “Dear students and teachers, your safety is a matter for us. Please note that any illegal assembly or any illegal demonstration at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, which is strictly controlled as per the directions of the Supreme Court of India, may invite legal action.” Such actions can also pose a threat to student safety and have a significant impact on their academic progress and professional opportunities. Therefore, all students are advised to stay away from Jantar Mantar and prioritize their safety and compliance. In addition, you are advised to be careful because there are many fake and false products being created and distributed to increase. “
Pooja Bhatt criticizes DU’s advice against protests
A few hours later, Pooja Bhatt responded to DU’s message by sharing it on Twitter (now X), writing, “The safety of the students is at risk if their voices are suppressed. If we are truly invested in their future, we should support their freedom of speech instead of maintaining a conspiracy of silence.”
Pooja Bhatt’s voice comes in the midst of Jantar Mantar’s international protests
At Jantar Mantar, a protest center in New Delhi, thousands of youth protestors, disrupted by the Cockroach Janta Party, gathered to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for academic irregularities, including the leak of the NEET paper. The protests are no longer confined to the capital, they have spread to many other Indian cities such as Mumbai and Bengaluru. “This movement will not stop until we quit Pradhan’s job,” the CJP said in a tweet on X. “We will fight, we will win together.” For his part, Pradhan reacted sarcastically to the protests, accusing the Congress party of using “students as political tools to create chaos.”
Sonam Wangchuk It relieves hunger
Sonam Wangchuk, a teacher who has been fasting along with the protesting students for more than 20 days, broke her hunger strike on Friday morning. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement stating that those accused of releasing NEET have been arrested and that fast track courts are being set up to speed up the case.