The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) organised 'Chalo Sansad', a march to the Indian Parliament on Monday. The march was organised seeking the resignation of India Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of examinations such as the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
Thousands of protesters turned up for the march, which included students, youth, political leaders and activists. People from all walks of life joined in, from the children to the elderly.
The march began from Jantar Mantar, where the CJP has been holding a sit-in since June 20, demanding Pradhan's resignation. The march was carried out as actvist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been holding an indefinite hunger strike as part of the CJP protest, remains at the Safdarjung hopsital.
Protesters carried flags and placards, marching in groups and raising slogans, as they moved through the roads leading towards the Parliament. Many carried backpacks after travelling overnight by train and bus, while others walked with umbrellas as rain lashed the city.
Around them, police in riot gear lined the roads, buses stood ready to detain protesters and long rows of barricades blocked every route leading to the Parliament. As protesters moved towards the Parliament, Delhi Police stopped them at several points using multiple layers of barricades.
Clashes soon erupted between the protesters and the police. The police indulged in a brutal crackdown of the march, resorting to baton charge and the use of tear-gas to disperse the protesters.
Police fired tear-gas and resorted to lathi-charge near Parliament Street, Patel Chowk, Rail Bhawan and other areas after the protesters attempted to push through the barricades. Both police personnel and protesters were injured during the clashes, while internet services were suspended in parts of central Delhi.
The crackdwon stopped protesters from going beyond the Parliament Street. However, braving rains and baton-charge, the protesters are still continuing at Jantar Mantar through the night.
As the protests raged on, Union Health Minister J P Nadda met a two-member delegation from CJP.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said he, along with CJP's national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, met the health minister at his residence for about 10 minutes.
The CJP said Nadda has assured them that he would hold internal talks and has requested some time to align with the government leadership on CJP demands, which include the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and one crore compensation for all NEET aspirants who committed suicide.
By Monday evening, the protest site at Jantar Mantar had been wiped clean - the stage dismantled, tents cleared and shoes scattered across the road - hours after police baton-charged protesters marching towards Parliament.
The road leading to the Jantar Mantar protest site was closed from both sides. The stage from where activist Sonam Wangchuk had addressed supporters and observed a hunger strike was gone.
So were the black tarpaulins, student camps, tents, banners, posters, carpets, and mattresses that had marked the site of the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) month-long protest.
The Police took over the protest stage and tore everything down, leaving this portrait of Babasaheb Ambedkar, a copy of the Constitution of India, a Shriramcharitamanas, the Bible and a small idol of Babasaheb Ambedkar which lies sideways. India was brutally assaulted today. https://t.co/M7JDRQWxUp pic.twitter.com/P2PTYIQEAA
Sonam Wangchuk has penned a letter stating that he will continue his hunger strike till youth leaders of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) are allowed to meet MPs in Parliament or till the time the leaders meet with him at the Sadfarjung hospital.
The remarks come against the backdrop of the brutal crcakdown by the police on the Parliament march undertaken by CJP protesters today.
Day #23I'll continue my fast........... pic.twitter.com/rfohA8iMkx
Taking cognisance of the violent crackdown on youth, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday 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's remarks came after security forces resorted to a baton charge near Parliament Street after thousands of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters, protesting against the paper leaks, allegedly tried to breach barricades while marching towards the Parliament.
"Prime Minister Modi is the 'most anti-youth Prime Minister in India's history — He's so 'anti-youth' that he can't even take the resignation of a failed Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.
"152 paper leaks. 7.5 crore students victimised. And not a single guilty person punished. Who got the punishment? The hardworking youth," he said in a post in Hindi on X.
As the day drew to a close, the Delhi Police issued a statement saying that around 70 protesters have been detained and the FIR is being registered under relevant provisions of law.
The Delhi Police also stated that more than 118 police personnel sustained injuries, while around 60 protesters also reported being injured in the clashes that erupted during CJP's Parliament march.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has stated that the sit-in protest would continue at Jantar Mantar till the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
Dipke along with Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Gitanjali Angmo will continue the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar. Thousands of people have assembled again at the protest site, determined to carry on despite repeated crackdown by the police.
'Chalo Sansad', symbolic of the pent-up frustration of Indian youth, and the suppression that followed is one for the history books.
(With inputs from PTI)