Prominent personalities from the Indian entertainment industry have been criticising police action against protesters who participated in the 'Sansad Chalo' march on Monday. Activist Sonam Wangchuk, known for his protest against NEET paper leaks, backed the march initiated by the Cockroach Janta Party, founded by Abhijeet Dipke.
Meanwhile, rapper Arivu tried to stage his own demonstration outside the Secretariat earlier this Tuesday where he demanded the removal of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Subsequently, Chennai Police detained Arivu and four others, reportedly for staging the protest with no authorisation. In a video that is now circulating on social media, the rapper can be seen shouting, "NEET should be abolished," even as cops take him into a police vehicle with force.
Later in the day, the rapper went to the Secretariat for a meeting with Chief Minister Joseph Vijay. It is worth noting that Arivu is known for the lyrics and vocals of 'Vaathi Raid' from Vijay's Master and 'Thalapathy Kacheri' from his upcoming final film, Jana Nayagan.
It has been reported that Vijay learnt about the protest staged by the rapper and asked police to take him to his office at the Secretariat right away. We are yet to learn about the specifics of the meeting.
People demand the abolition of NEET mainly because of the systemic flaws concerning it that include recurring paper leaks and allegedly manipulated grace marks, compromising the examination.
Numerous celebrities came out in support of educationalist Sonam Wangchuk, who went on days-long hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in protest of the flaws with the education system. Recently, filmmaker Pa Ranjith expressed his support for Wangchuk and called out the government's decision to move the educationist to a hospital amidst his protest.
