The Madhya Pradesh police, unable to stop them at the first barricade, used batons.
Thousands of students' from the Congress students' wing NSUI -- led by senior party leaders -- clashed with the police during a mega protest in Bhopal against the education policy of Madhya Pradesh today. A lathicharge by the police did not deter the protesters from marching towards the residence of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Led by NSUI National president Neeraj Kundan, around 2500-3000 students from all 52 districts of the state are participating in the protest, party sources said.
The students contend that members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes are not receiving their scholarship. Besides they pointed out other loopholes in the new education policy that's being implemented in the state.
State Congress chief Kamal Nath, former ministers PC Sharma, Lakhan Ghanghoria and Youth Congress MLAs Kunal Choudhary, Vipin Wankheded and youth leaders liked Vivek Tripathi also participated in the protest.
The police, unable to stop them at the first barricade, used batons. Visuals from the spot showed the police in riot gear trying to beat back the students, most of whom managed to evade them and go over the barricades.
Mr Chouhan was not at home at the time.
"We have started a nationwide campaign 'Save Education, Save India'," said Vivek Tripathi, president of the Youth Congress media cell.
"In Madhya Pradesh, the scholarship of SC-ST, OBC students are irregular because of which college administration puts pressure on them for fees, and they are suffering. Education mafia runs everything. They are distributing fake degrees. We just wanted to meet the Chief Minister, but the students were lathi-charged, the police are registering cases against them. Many students have been injured, they are admitted to the hospital," he added.
