Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, along with Congress and CPM leaders, on Saturday led a candlelight march and Satyagraha in Shimla to protest against the NEET paper leak and express solidarity with the students protesting in New Delhi. Despite intermittent rain, Sukhu, accompanied by Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president Vinay Kumar, Education Minister Rohit Thakur, Congress MLAs, Mahila Congress members and party office-bearers, marched from the Mall Road to the Ridge. Former CPM legislator Rakesh Singha, former Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan and former Deputy Mayor Tikender Singh Panwar also participated in the protest. A large number of students joined the march.

The protesters raised slogans against the Central Government over the NEET paper leak, claiming it had jeopardised the future of students across the country. Sukhu said that the Congress stood firmly with the students at a time when the Central Government had put the future of lakhs of aspirants at stake due to its failure to prevent paper leaks. He called for strict action to restore the credibility of competitive examinations.

The march concluded near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue on the Ridge, where the participants observed a Satyagraha. The protesters also paid homage to 21 youths who, they claimed, had lost their lives in connection with the NEET paper leak issue.