On Wednesday, February 28, scores of students demonstrated at the HKS Surjeet Bhawan, which is the office building of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in New Delhi against many Central government education and job policies.
This rally was organised by the left-wing All India Students' Association (AISA) under the aegis of Young India to advocate for their causes to be included in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, PTI reports.
This comes after referendums held earlier this month in educational institutions around the country to collect votes on student-related concerns.
The students' organisation had also issued a charter identifying the present government's "failed policies", such as the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), and urged their revocation.
Delhi cabinet minister Gopal Rai, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, and Prof Nawal Kishore, national spokesperson of the Rashtriya Janta Dal were also present at the rally.
"If this regime continues its reign in 2024, we might not even be able to hold meetings like this. We must unite and resist this onslaught on democracy," Rai said.
"This policy of utter silence on key issues and hate-mongering in society must be halted," Bhushan added.
The rally also saw participation from student groups including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the Muslim Students’ Federation, the All India Students’ Federation (AISF), the Progressive Students’ Union, the Revolutionary Youth Association, and the All India Youth League among others.
