Members of the Jana Sena Party’s Veera Mahila wing on Saturday staged a day-long deeksha demanding that the State government cancel plans to conduct the SSC and Intermediate Board exams in view of the unprecedented COVID crisis.
The women staged the protest in their respective houses at the behest of their party president Pawan Kalyan.
They said the situation was very grim on account of the rapid spread of the virus. People were afraid of stepping out of their houses. In such difficult times, it was unwise on the part of the government to conduct the examinations and put lakhs of lives at risk.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had cancelled 10th exams and many States had also followed suit, giving priority to the safety of students, they pointed out.
They warned that if the government failed to heed their plea, they would resort to a State-wide protest, along with student organisations, students and their parents.
They said COVID-19 testing had been stopped while the virus spread was at its peak. In this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, the government expected the students to write their exams, they criticised.
Those who led the protest included the party’s political affairs committee member P. Yasaswini, Srikalahasti in charge Vinutha Kota, women leaders Ghantasala Venkata Lakshmi, Ravi Soujanya and A. Subhashini.