Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 6: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Sunday backed the ongoing student protests in Maharashtra, saying thousands of students have taken to the streets because their faith in the system has been shattered.

In a post on X, Gandhi said the protests were not limited to a single examination or recruitment issue but reflected wider concerns among students over the functioning of the education and recruitment system.

“Whether it's the Central or State government, every student is tormented by the BJP government,” Gandhi said, alleging problems including paper leaks, stalled recruitment, rising education costs, poor hostel conditions and irregularities in direct benefit transfers.

He also accused the government of undermining the credibility of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), alleging that a constitutional body had been brought under political control.

Gandhi said students’ demands for a secure and successful future were justified and urged the government to immediately address their concerns.

He warned that the students’ “Chhatron ki Goonj” would grow louder if their grievances were not addressed and justice was not delivered.

The remarks came after the Maharashtra government constituted a high-level committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the state’s recruitment examination system and recommend measures to make it more transparent, secure, reliable and candidate-friendly.

The review will cover the entire examination process, including question paper preparation and scrutiny, confidentiality and secure handling of examination papers, management and security at examination centres, use of technology, prevention of malpractices, coordination between agencies and grievance redressal mechanisms.

The committee will also examine the overall experience of candidates appearing for government recruitment examinations.

The protests have involved tribal students and job aspirants, who have raised concerns over poor hostel facilities, student safety and alleged examination paper leaks.

Following the demonstrations, the state government accepted several key demands and announced the formation of the examination reform panel.

The developments have intensified political pressure on the Maharashtra government to address concerns surrounding recruitment examinations and restore confidence among students and job aspirants.