Thiruvananthapuram | The BJP on Wednesday marched towards the office of the KPCC here, accusing the Congress of "exploiting" students' protests over the alleged NEET paper leak for "political gains".
The march, led by the party's state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, was attended by senior BJP leaders, including MLAs V Muraleedharan and B B Gopakumar.
The march, which started from Manaveeyam Veedhi, was stopped near the KPCC office after police erected barricades.
Tension prevailed after some protesters, raising slogans against the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, tried to move forward by jumping over the barricades.
The police fired several rounds of water cannon at protesting BJP workers to disperse them.
BJP workers pulled down the barricades and attempted to march towards the KPCC office, but the police prevented them from moving forward. Several women were among the protesters.
Inaugurating the march, Chandrasekhar accused the Congress of "exploiting" the NEET issue for political gains and claimed that the Narendra Modi government had acted swiftly after allegations of question paper leaks emerged.
He said the Centre had ordered a CBI investigation, fixed accountability and conducted re-examinations wherever required, adding that the government was committed to protecting the future of students.
"The Prime Minister has made it clear that anyone found responsible will be punished. The Modi government has been working for the welfare of students for the past 12 years and will continue to do so," he said.
The BJP leader alleged that the Congress was using students' concerns for political purposes.
He claimed that while students were protesting, Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were more focused on demonstrations near Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence than on interacting with the students.
Chandrasekhar further alleged that those associated with the protest included people linked to the 'tukde tukde gang', those demanding the restoration of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and others opposed to the BJP-led government.
Calling the developments a "conspiracy", he alleged that the Congress had realised it could not return to power through democratic means after successive electoral setbacks, including the 2014, 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, as well as state elections in Bihar, West Bengal and Assam.
Referring to previous agitations, including the farmers' protest and protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), he claimed that similar conspiracies had been witnessed earlier.
The BJP leader also criticised the Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan, alleging that he had violated rules by participating in the protest, and claimed that the Chief Minister would be forced to apologise once the "truth" behind the alleged conspiracy came to light.
Chandrasekhar concluded by saying that the people of India would reject any attempt to destabilise the country and would continue to support and protect the nation.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Satheesan, reacting to the BJP's march to the KPCC office at a press conference here, said, "We are not a fascist party. We are not opposed to strikes, protests or agitations.
Everyone has a democratic right to protest, and they are free to conduct their agitation." Satheesan, who participated in the Congress protest outside Modi's residence, said,"The people know why the Congress organised yesterday's protest.
We have been demanding the resignation of the concerned minister for a long time, and our agitation is continuing." "The events of yesterday and the day before have made the situation clear to the people. There is widespread public anger over the issue."
Taking a dig at the BJP while referring to the suicides of students allegedly linked to the mismanagement of the NEET examination, Satheesan said, "If the BJP wants to organise a march to the KPCC office claiming that the KPCC president is responsible for the students' suicides, they are free to do so."
