NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday vowed “stringent punishment” for those involved in exam fraud that has fueled student anger, in his first direct comments tied to major protests challenging his government.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth,” he said in a social media post, promising to set up fast-track courts to punish those involved in question paper leaks.
Youth protesters demanding the education minister’s resignation clashed briefly with police on the streets of New Delhi late on Wednesday, with officers firing tear gas and wielding canes to push them back, police and witnesses said.
More than 10,000 people were estimated to have gathered at the Jantar Mantar protest site in central New Delhi, local media said, as leaders of the “cockroach” movement vowed to continue their month-old protest until the minister resigned over exam paper leaks that affected some 2 million students in May.
The protests have grown into the biggest youth challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he came to power in 2014, with opposition parties echoing the demands of the youth movement and disrupting the monsoon session of parliament that began this week.
