Report: S. Munir
Aligarh. Samajwadi Party workers staged a strong protest in Aligarh on Tuesday against rising inflation, unemployment, alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, and the increasing incidents of crime in the state. During the programme to submit a memorandum addressed to the Governor, tension, arguments and commotion between the administration and the workers kept the atmosphere highly charged. After the protest continued for a considerable time, the matter was resolved peacefully through administrative intervention and ultimately the memorandum addressed to the Governor was handed over to the concerned officer.
Samajwadi Party leaders alleged that information regarding the memorandum submission programme had been formally provided to the district administration a day earlier. Despite this, various administrative officials continuously contacted them from the morning and exerted pressure to postpone or cancel the programme. Party leaders said that they were instructed not to participate in the protest and were even threatened with criminal cases and imprisonment on certain occasions. However, despite all the pressure, the workers followed their scheduled programme and reached the district headquarters to begin the protest.
The protest programme was led by Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha city president Mohsin Mevati and state secretary of Mulayam Singh Youth Brigade, Advocate Imran Pathan. A large number of workers raised slogans against inflation, unemployment and issues concerning students, expressing strong resentment against the government.
The protesters alleged that the district administration resorted to delaying tactics in receiving the memorandum. In response, the agitated workers intensified their protest and reached the offices of the District Magistrate and Additional District Magistrate, where they pasted copies of the memorandum addressed to the Governor on the office walls and registered their protest through vigorous slogan shouting.
For some time during the protest, the atmosphere became tense and there was also an altercation between the workers and the administration. However, the situation was brought under control following the intervention of senior officials. Later, the memorandum addressed to the Governor was handed over to ACM First Dilip Kumar Mishra.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Advocate Imran Pathan, state secretary of the Mulayam Singh Youth Brigade, said that in a democracy it is the responsibility of every political party and public representative to raise public issues and draw the government’s attention towards them. He said that inflation, unemployment and issues related to students and youth have become some of the most important issues facing the country today, but instead of resolving them, the government is engaged in suppressing voices of protest.
He said that even if cases are filed or workers are harassed for raising issues of public concern, the Samajwadi Party will not step back from its mission. The party will continue its struggle for the protection of people’s rights, the future of youth and democratic values.
Mohsin Mevati, city president of the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, said that today the state’s youth, students, farmers and ordinary citizens are facing a severe economic crisis. The continuous rise in the prices of petrol, diesel, LPG cylinders and daily-use commodities has made life difficult for the public. It has become difficult for the middle and poor classes to meet household expenses, while young people are becoming victims of frustration due to the lack of employment opportunities.
He said that the issues that have emerged regarding the NEET examination have caused concern among millions of students and their parents. Under such circumstances, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure a transparent and impartial investigation into all matters so that the confidence of students can be restored. He alleged that instead of solving public issues, the government is adopting a policy of pressuring those who protest, which Samajwadi workers will never accept.
The memorandum submitted to the Governor demanded effective control over inflation, creation of new employment opportunities for youth, protection of students’ interests, impartial investigation into all matters related to the NEET examination, and further improvement of law and order in the state.
Those present at the protest programme included Advocate Imran Pathan, Mohsin Mevati, Syed Faizan Ali, Danish Ali, Faizan Pathan, Harish Chandra, Sardar, Prabhav Singh, Shariq, Abid Malik, Shariq Chaudhary, Majid Thakur, Chandrapal, Nadeem, Vikram, Arjun Singh, Vishal Pandey, Ankit Yadav, Vivek Yadav, Vikas Kumar, Harjeet Singh, along with a large number of office-bearers and workers of the Samajwadi Party, Mulayam Singh Youth Brigade and Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha.
