As the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre comes under fire from the Opposition and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over its handling of the NEET protests, two of the largest allies of the ruling NDA – the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and JD(U) have struck a cautious note while stopping short of publicly criticising the government.Within the TDP, leaders appear divided over the issue. While some said the party has a “soft corner” for the students, others described the agitation as political.AdvertisementAlso Read | Slogan vs slogan at Parliament entrance as NDA, Opposition hold protestsThe TDP is sympathetic towards the protesters. The party, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has been holding a sympathetic view because these are the youth of the country,” a TDP leader told The Indian Express.According to the leader, the party believes the protests in Delhi should not be considered a law-and-order issue. “These are young people who want to be heard. The right way to deal with the situation is to channelise them in the right path,” the leader said.At the same time, the leader said the TDP would not publicly articulate its position as no NDA meeting has been held on the issue. “We respect the alliance,” the leader said, adding that PM Modi too appears willing to listen to the concerns of the youth.AdvertisementAlso Read | Mobile internet snapped in areas around Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, 6th such order in a weekHowever, another TDP leader said the party had not yet held any internal discussion on either the CJP or the protests. “We have not had this discussion. But we hope this will come up soon,” the leader said.The TDP’s Bapatla MP and former Director General-rank police officer Krishna Prasad Tenneti, however, took a different view, saying the protests had acquired a political dimension. “The protests are happening on the streets because some people don’t want certain Bills to be taken up in Parliament. This includes the FCRA Bill and the MSME Bill. These Bills concern youth too,” he said.you may likeWhile expressing “sympathy” for students affected by the NEET paper leak, Tenneti said the government had acted promptly. “The government course-corrected and held a re-examination soon after, and a lot of students have qualified. We should not forget that the PM himself responded, as did the Union education ministry,” he said, adding that it needed to be seen who had “infiltrated the youth protest”.Also Read | As NEET protests grow beyond the exam, an IIT professor explains what drives young people to take to the streetsIn Bihar, where protests supporting the Jantar Mantar agitation took a violent turn with the police lathi-charging protesters in Katihar, Darbhanga and Begusarai, JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar appealed for calm, saying that after the PM assured strict action against those responsible for the NEET paper leak, students should exercise restraint. “We fully empathise with them (students), but they must guard against hoodlums and miscreants. Various groups with vested interests are attempting to foment trouble,” he said.Bihar BJP vice-president Santosh Pathak echoed the sentiment. “We acknowledge that there was a paper leak, and we sympathise with the students. However, students must not resort to foul language against politicians or the police. The central government has already taken note of the matter, and students must exercise patience now,” he said.