‘Azadi’ slogans in Uttarakhand paper leak protest create flutter; CM calls it a ploy to create unrest in state

The ongoing agitation against the paper leak of the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) examination on September 21 took a surprising turn when protesters chanted slogans calling for freedom and banning the entry of Bhagwa into villages.

The incessant statewide agitation by unemployed youths, which began on September 21, surprised everyone when a woman speaker called for “azadi” slogans, fully supported by fellow agitators on Thursday night. The speaker, identified as Pushpa Rawat, addressing a large gathering of protesting youths and chanted slogans including: “Hum sab kya chahte, azadi” (what do we all want, freedom), “Tum kyon nahi doge, azadi” (why won’t you give freedom), “Tumhe deni padegi, azadi” (you will have to give freedom), “Hum chheen ke lenge, azadi” (we will snatch freedom), “Hum sadak se lenge, azadi” (will will claim freedom on the streets), “Sansad se lenge, azadi” (we will claim freedom from Parliament), and “Iss loot tantra se, azadi” (freedom from this system of loot).

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As the video of Rawat chanting slogans for freedom went viral, it evoked mixed reactions from the public, even as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami condemned the agitation, calling it a conspiracy to create unrest in the state. The Chief Minister said some people were deliberately trying to create unrest against his government under the guise of the paper leak issue, for which the government has already constituted an SIT for an intensive investigation. However, many people applauded her slogans, stating she did not commit any crime and was merely demanding freedom from a corrupt and unjust system in the state.

“She did not say a single wrong word, irrespective of what the government thinks. Agitation and demand for freedom from a corrupt system in the state are the people’s right. Question paper leaks in Uttarakhand have become the order of the day, despite the state government and the Chief Minister claiming strict enforcement of the law. Youths are on the streets demanding the quashing of the leaked question paper, but the state government is unwilling to accept. They have been forced to continue the protest,” said Samar Bhandari, state convener of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

The ruling BJP, on the other hand, has claimed that the “azadi” slogans chanted in the viral video were similar to those raised by JNU students a few years ago. “Protest by unemployed youths is their right, but they must also understand that their conduct should not send the wrong message across the state and the country. The viral slogans of freedom in Dehradun on Thursday resembled the way a group of students at JNU had ranted anti-national slogans a few years ago,” said a senior BJP state office-bearer who wished not to be named.