Palghar: The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) staged a strong protest at Ashagad Naka in Dahanu taluka of Palghar district on Tuesday against the alleged NEET examination paper leak, demanding the immediate dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The protest was organised by the Thane-Palghar district unit of DYFI and witnessed participation from hundreds of activists and office-bearers, who raised slogans against the NTA, the state government and the Central government.

Prominent leaders present during the agitation included Maharashtra State Secretary Comrade Dutta Chavan, district president Comrade Nandakumar Hadal and district secretary Comrade Rajesh Dalvi, along with several state and district committee members of DYFI.

Addressing the gathering, DYFI leaders alleged that repeated incidents of paper leaks, corruption and examination irregularities had surfaced ever since the responsibility of conducting national-level examinations was handed over to the NTA.

The organisation claimed that the NEET paper leak had endangered the future of nearly 22 lakh students across the country and created widespread mental stress, insecurity and frustration among students and parents.

Calling the incident “deeply alarming,” DYFI leaders said the controversy had severely shaken public confidence in the country’s education and examination system.

The protesters demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged paper leak and sought strict legal action against all those responsible for the irregularities.

Among the key demands raised during the protest were the immediate dissolution of the NTA, decentralisation of the examination process and restoration of examination management responsibilities to government institutions as followed earlier.

DYFI also urged the Central government to take urgent steps to ensure that affected students do not suffer academic losses because of the controversy. The organisation warned that if the concerns of students were ignored, large-scale protests would be launched across Maharashtra in the coming days.