Kolkata, July 26 -- After Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) called off its Jantar Mantar agitation following the acceptance of its demands, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to thank her for supporting the movement.
Banerjee had earlier extended her support to the protest against the NEET paper leak and announced that she would travel to Delhi on Monday to stand in solidarity with the demonstrators. However, with the agitation now withdrawn, she has cancelled her planned visit.
The CJP's campaign against the alleged paper leak had received support from several quarters, including in West Bengal.
A rally was organised in Kolkata on Saturday by the TMC Students' and Youth wing. Mamata Banerjee had also joined the rally. However, at the end it descended into chaos as, following a court order, police tried to disperse the gathering.
On Sunday, TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee appealed to Millennials and Gen Z, who started the protest, to reconsider the celebrities, influencers, sports icons and film stars they choose to support, criticising those who remained silent during the students' protests. "When history calls for courage, silence is never neutral - it is a choice," he wrote.
Banerjee further said that the youth had given celebrities their "relevance" and the people their "influence", adding that if those who benefited from public support could not stand with the people "when it matters most", their continued support should be reconsidered.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.