PRAYAGRAJ, Oct. 5 -- A national convention of law students was held at Sardar Patel Seva Sansthan in Alopibagh, Prayagraj, on Sunday, where participants called for affordable legal education and protection of democratic and constitutional rights. Organised on the initiative of AIDSO, the convention brought together representatives of law students from 22 states. Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, retired Supreme Court judge J Chelameswar, CPDRS national vice-president Dwarkanath Rath and AIDSO general secretary Shivashish Prahraj were among the key speakers. Retired Supreme Court Justice J Chelameswar expressed concern over the rising cost and declining quality of legal education, along with the erosion of legal ethics and professional values. He said corruption and unethical practices had diminished the stature of the legal profession and voiced concern over weakening democratic and secular values in the judiciary. Senior SC advocate Prashant Bhushan alleged that democratic rights were being undermined and stressed the need to ensure that all citizens exercise these rights. He questioned appointments to constitutional bodies, including the Election Commissioner, and alleged that eligible voters had been removed from electoral rolls. He urged young lawyers and law students to defend legal ethics, civil liberties and democratic rights. Dwarkanath Rath, national vice-president of human rights organization CPDRS, called upon students and young people to mobilize for the protection of constitutional and democratic rights. AIDSO national general secretary Shivashish Prahraj said the problems confronting legal education were closely connected with the functioning of the judicial system. He said the crisis in legal education was closely linked to the functioning of the judiciary. Citing a pendency of over 5.22 crore cases nationwide, he called for legal education that goes beyond employment and sensitises students to democratic rights, secularism and professional ethics. The convention discussed several issues affecting law students, including high fees, employment opportunities, scholarships, internships, infrastructure and inequalities within the legal profession....