After Modi’s Sunday radio address to the nation, the 68th episode uploaded on YouTube has garnered more dislikes than likes. While the show has wide popularity among its audience, the new trend of dislikes is being seen as a new form of protest.
Medical and engineering aspirants across India have been demanding the postponement of the national Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases and partial lockdown in many states. With the education minister and government paying no heed to their demands, students have started disliking Modi’s address on YouTube to express their discontentment with the government.
Meanwhile, #StudentsDislikePMModi is also trending on Twitter, where the students are mobilising one another to dislike Modi’s videos on YouTube in a show of dissent.
The Human Resources Development minister said 80% of students have downloaded their admit card, so they are willing to take exams.
— Nikunj Bihari (@imnNikku10) August 31, 2020
Similarly, 273k students have disliked "MANN KI BAAT", so PM should stop delivering shits on radio or coming live or he should resign ? #RIP_POKHRIYAL#StudentsDislikePMModi pic.twitter.com/fOUE2qUV76
MILLIONS of students wanting postponement #JEE #NEET ignored
— Pinaki Bose (@PinakiBose18) August 31, 2020
Yet @PMOIndia is busy with Toys Birds Dogs
No SOP Social distancing or Sanitization in exam center
MILLIONS be infected
THOUSANDS die
DICTATOR#PostponeJEE_NEETinCOVID#StudentsDislikePMModi@DrRPNishank @EduMinOfIndia pic.twitter.com/hL8hkmgqCj
In dono channel ko unsubscribe kro
— Vinay Dadhich (@_Vinay_dadhich) August 31, 2020
Or video ko dislike kro
Guys.. #StudentsHatesMrModi #StudentsDislikePMModi #RIP_POKHRIYAL pic.twitter.com/MRFM8Rev0i
Youth is the future of nation .a great reform will take if the students demand their right a big change was happened in 2014 and now it's time to go for that change #NoMore_Neet #Mann_Ki_Nahi_Student_Ki_Baat #StudentsDislikePMModi @DrRPNishank @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/JqdeMdkKj8
— Rajan Kumar (@kumarRajangmc) August 31, 2020
As more than a million medical and engineering aspirants have to appear for the JEE, scheduled on 1 September and 6 September, and the NEET on 13 September, state chief of Jharkhand Hemant Soren attacked the education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', over the central government's decision to hold NEET, andJEE Main 2020 examinations as scheduled. The exams are the gateway to admission in premier institutes like the Indian Institute of Technology and the All India Institute for Medical Sciences.
Tonight I'm worried & tensed as India continues to record over 75000 Covid 19 cases every single day. Yet our Union Education Minister @DrRPNishank'ji is not even remotely concerned about the safety & health concerns of lakhs of students made to write #JEENEET exams in September. https://t.co/CJmgLJ0HIb
— Hemant Soren (घर में रहें - सुरक्षित रहें) (@HemantSorenJMM) August 29, 2020
With no standard operating procedure or increase in the number of examination centres, students are worried about travelling to their examination centres, taking the three-hour long exam with masks on and then contracting the virus, which may affect their families as well.
Meanwhile, India has recorded 3,542,733 COVID-19 cases with over 78,000 cases being recorded in a single day. As many as 63,498 have died due to the virus in the country.
