New Delhi: Security forces used tear gas shells and lathi charge near Shastri Bhawan here as several protesters attempted to push through security barricades in a bid to reach Jantar Mantar to join the Cockroach Janta Party’s march to Parliament on Monday, sources said.
The action came amid heightened tensions in the high-security zone.
Several commuters were stranded inside nearby metro stations after access was restricted and station gates were closed as a precautionary measure.
Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel remained in place across New Delhi to prevent any breach of security.
Protestors fight pitched battles with police
White clouds of teargas over Parliament House, the insistent chant of slogans from restive young fighting police batons and, by end of day, police vacating Jantar Mantar as the government and the Cockroach Janta Party tried for rapprochement.
It was an unprecedented Monday of highs and lows as thousands of young and angry people converged near Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon session to push for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, only to be pushed back by lathis and teargas shells.
‘Chalo Sansad’. That was the rallying cry bringing together the young who transformed the leafy, high security streets of central Delhi into extraordinary scenes of protests.
Carrying placards and the tricolour, shouting slogans such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”, “Jai Bhim”, “Vande Mataram” and “Dharmendra Pradhan Istifa Do”, many just sat where they were stopped, the protests mushrooming in multiple places across the city.
The crowd included schoolchildren, college students, parents and senior citizens. Some came in uniforms, while others wore cockroach costumes.
More than 50 police personnel and protesters were injured during clashes with CJP protesters in New Delhi district on Sunday, prompting a massive security response, police sources said.
Sources added that about 100 people were detained and 65 medico legal cases registered at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
The CJP, an organic movement against paper leaks and alleged irregularities in the exam system that started with a comment by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant referring to the youth as ‘cockroaches’, has been sitting at Jantar Mantar since June 20. The protest gathered traction with activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike and that of some youngsters.
The protest, which took an ugly violent turn, will continue peacefully, the CJP said in a statement.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who took up the fast after Wangchuk was forcibly removed from Jantar Mantar after 21 days of forgoing food, was also picked up from the place.
Dipke and others, including Wangchuk’s wife Gitanjali Angmo, moved to Kerala House close by where they continued their sit-in.
A two-member CJP delegation met Union Health Minister J P Nadda in an effort to resolve the escalating crisis.
The CJP said Nadda assured them that he would hold internal talks and requested time to align with the government leadership on the CJP’s demands – the immediate release of Wangchuk, Pradhan’s resignation and Rs 1 crore compensation for all NEET aspirants who committed suicide.
“This morning, for the first time, a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government, and our discussions have been ongoing since 11:50 am. The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere… I have requested all the protesters to end their sit-in and assist the administration in restoring normalcy,” Nadda said in a post on X.
A few kilometres away from ground zero of the action, Wangchuk, who is admitted at Safdarjung Hospital, said he would continue fasting till youth leaders were allowed to meet MPs in Parliament or they came to meet him in hospital.
‘We’re Your Children Too’: Police Action Draws Emotional Plea from Protesters
“If your own children were here, would you still do this? Aren’t we your children too?” a tearful protester asked police as personnel resorted to a lathi charge against demonstrators marching towards Parliament over alleged examination irregularities.
As security personnel stopped the march and clashes broke out, a protester was seen in tears, pleading with police to let her and other protesters proceed. “Please let us go. Aren’t you pity for us?” she cried.
Among the crowd were two specially abled youngsters who conveyed their message through sign language, drawing the attention of fellow protesters and volunteers.
Sixteen-year-old Kanishka said she had skipped school to join the protest, alleged that she was injured during the clashes and that her mobile phone was damaged.
Showing bruises on her hand, she said, “In future we will also give exams, so we joined the protest. But here we are being beaten, and my phone has also cracked. These police personnel’s children will also give exams in future, yet they are not letting us protest.”
The demonstration also saw parents joining students. A woman who came to Jantar Mantar with her young son said her husband serves in the police force, but she still chose to participate.
“I know my husband would not want me to be here, but I will continue because I don’t want my son to face uncertainty when he appears for exams in the future,” she said.
As the confrontation intensified, some protesters were seen carrying those who fainted during the march and the ensuing clashes, while volunteers offered water and first aid.
Thousands of protesters gathered near Parliament Street here and tried to march towards Parliament to demand accountability over alleged examination irregularities and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, braving a baton charge by security personnel.
The issue found echo in Parliament and in political discourse.
Both houses of Parliament, meeting for the first time since the protests began, were adjourned repeatedly amid uproar by opposition members over the issue.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the “most anti-youth” PM in the country’s history as he accused the government of not just failing the youth but also pouncing on them.
Gandhi said in a post on X, “Prime Minister Modi… is so ‘anti-youth’ that he can’t even take the resignation of a failed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal also slammed the Modi government for using force against the protestors, demanding that the Centre listen to the youth and not order a lathi charge against them.
In Delhi, life was disrupted till late in the evening.
Though large parts of central Delhi were gridlocked as the protests gathered pace and security personnel swarmed the streets, the ripple effects were seen all over.
Several commuters were stranded inside nearby metro stations after access was restricted and station gates were closed as a precautionary measure.
(With Inputs from PTI).
