The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest entered its 24th day on Tuesday, with supporters continuing their sit-in at Jantar Mantar despite heightened security following violent clashes during the “Sansad Chalo” march a day earlier. Protesters, undeterred by police action and heavy rain, resumed demonstrations, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The party accused the Centre of ignoring public demands, and alleged that the BJP was acting with arrogance.
Congress leader Sonia Gandhi reached Delhi's Mandir Marg Police Station where her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Congress leader were being held after they were detained from the protest outside PM's residence.
Delhi Police on Tuesday rejected CJP's allegation of use of pellet guns by its personnel against protestors during the "Chalo Sansad" march.
Cockroach Janata Party spokesperson Saurav Das on Tuesday shared a video on X alleging that the police had fired pellet guns at peaceful protesters.
The post also carried a video showing a man with perforations on his face that resembled as having been inflicted by a pellet gun.
"Fake News Alert," Delhi Police wrote on X in response.
"Reports claiming that police forces are using pellet guns against peaceful protesters are completely false and misleading," the police said.
The force urged people not to share or circulate unverified content and advised the public to verify facts only through official sources before posting or forwarding information on social media.
"Appropriate legal action will be taken against individuals found spreading rumours or misinformation," its post read.
No protester part of the CJP's Parliament march is still under detention, Delhi Police said on Tuesday.
The assertion came as the Cockroach Janata Party claimed that hundreds of protesters were still under police detention, but subsequently announced all its supporters had been released.
The police statement came in the wake of the CJP announcing a protest at the Delhi Police headquarters at 8 pm if the protesters were not released.
Delhi Police forcibly removed and detained Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well as SP chief Akhilesh Yadav from the protest site outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence.
As police swooped down on the site, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha could be seen lying on the ground and resisting as security personnel tried to pick him up.
He was hurt in the process. An aide said he suffered an injury below the eye.
There were dramatic scenes with Priyanka Gandhi hanging on the door of the police bus even after it started moving.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday removed its spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya from the post after a video surfaced showing him eating a burger during the police crackdown on the outfit's 'Chalo Sansad' march.
In a statement, the CJP said Dahiya's conduct was inconsistent with the values of the movement. Responding to the criticism, Dahiya said people didn't see that he had not slept for two nights just like those who were at the protest site. "You hold me accountable as if it is my job to be a protester."
The CJP has condemned the "deeply insensitive actions" of Dahiya.
"We strongly condemn the deeply insensitive actions of our spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya, whose videos surfaced while peaceful protestors and our team were facing brutal police violence. Such conduct is unacceptable, shows a complete lack of judgment, and is wholly inconsistent with the values and principles of our movement," the statement said.
"In response, we are removing Vijeta Dahiya as spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party and relieving him of all the official duties," it added.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday asked what was the government's design behind initiating talks with his outfit. He stated that the government engaged in dialogue with CJP while simultaneously carrying out a police crackdown on protesters.
"The government wasted our time. They invited our delegation. They seized their mobiles. Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were, in a way, under house arrest at J P Nadda's residence," Dipke said addressing supporters at Jantar Mantar.
"The whole plan was to scatter the team, so that when there is chaos, no one is there. That is why they kept them sitting for five hours and wasted our time. You call for talks on one hand, and unleash batons on students on the other hand," he alleged.
The Centre has not responded to the allegations.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday demanded that the list of police personnel and protesters injured during the march to Parliament be made public and expressed apprehension that students may be turned into accused in FIRs, alleging that this happened during the 2020 Delhi riots as well.
Sibal said children should raise their voice peacefully in every city of the country, so that governments listen to them.
He also lashed out at Union minister J P Nadda over his assertion that a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government and asked that when "our fasting children's proposals" were known to all, was the government waiting to tear gas and lathi-charge them.
A delegation of Left parliamentarians visited Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to express solidarity with students protesting against alleged irregularities in the education sector, and demanded that Union Home Minister Amit Shah make a statement in Parliament on the police action during Monday's attempted march to Parliament.
The delegation included CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MPs John Brittas, A A Rahim and V Sivadasan, CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar, and CPI(M) Lok Sabha MPs Amra Ram and S Venkatesan, among others.
Addressing protesters, Brittas alleged that the police crackdown on students during Sunday's protest was unprecedented and accused the Centre of using force to suppress a peaceful movement.
The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Tuesday shared a helpline for students in Delhi who were injured or stranded during protests over the alleged paper leak, or require shelter, food, medical care or legal assistance.
Under its ongoing programme 'Chhatro Ki Gunj'; the IYC said students can seek aid by calling the helpline numbers 8826970690, 9211452848 and 9827048238, or the social media platform X using the hashtag #SOSCKG.
In a statement, IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that the police action against protesting students "raises serious questions about democracy".
"The lathi-charge and use of tear gas against students raising their voices against the paper leak raise serious questions about democracy.We stand with every student who is facing any difficulties or needs assistance in Delhi," Chib said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday stated that while many people participating in the Cockroach Janata Party's agitation had genuine concerns, some elements had infiltrated the demonstration for their own vested interests.
Sawaikar's post, which featured an illustrated map of India infested with cockroaches and termites, triggered outrage among Opposition leaders, who accused the ruling party of branding citizens as anti-national for questioning the government.
Sonam Wangchuk's wife Gitanjali J Angmo on Tuesday thanked the Delhi high court for proposing the activist's discharge from Safdarjung Hospital and shifting to Medanta Hospital.
“My heartfelt thanks to the Hon’ble #delhihighcourt for passing favourable order of discharge of @Wangchuk66 to #medanta, the hospital of our choice! My heartfelt thanks also to @SibalAkhil and Bahuli Sharma and their teams for this win against unbelievable Off’s (sic) in record time!!” Angmo said in a post on X.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday 'proposed' an order allowing activist Sonam Wangchuk to be shifted from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital, while ensuring continuity of his treatment.
Hearing an appeal filed by Wangchuk's wife, Gitanjali Angmo, a bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said all medical records and reports available with Safdarjung Hospital would be shared with Medanta.
The court also said it would direct the director of Medanta Hospital to constitute a panel of doctors to oversee Wangchuk's treatment after his transfer.
“What we propose to do is, let him be shifted to a hospital of his choice, he will be treated by medanta and all the reports etc which have been done at safradhun will be supplied to medanata and he will be treated there by panel of doctors to be formed by Medanta. We will pass order after lunch,” the court said.
A young woman injured in the police action during the CJP protest here is on ventilator support at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, sources said on Tuesday. The woman sustained injuries on Monday.
"A young woman injured in police action during CJP protest is on ventilator in RML," the sources said without providing further details.
Punjabi star Diljit Dosanjh on Tuesday said the police action against protesters during their "Sansad Chalo" march was "wrong" and insisted that the government must listen to students' demand, while acknowledging that he could once again be labelled "anti-national".
"What happened today was very wrong. Students should not have been treated like this. I request the authorities to listen to the students' demands. The voice of the people is the voice of God," Diljit wrote in Punjabi on his Intagram Stories.
The actor also recalled the backlash and legal issues he faced when he supported the yearlong farmer's protests in 2020-2021.
"I have already been labelled an 'anti-national' many times. Even now, I know I will be called anti-national again. After the farmers' protest, I faced a lot of backlash and legal problems that I still cannot even discuss. The rest, God is watching everything. May Baba bless everyone," the "Main Vaapas Aaunga" actor said.
CJP convener Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday urged student protesters to “not lose hope.”
“They want you to lose hope. We cannot lost hope. Yesterday was just the first such call we gave,” Dipke said in a message to students.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise to students over the police action against protesters and resign along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that the crackdown was "completely 'unIndian'."
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to urgently list a petition concerning the city police's use of "excessive force" against students who took part in the Cockroach Janta Party's protest march to Parliament.
"Don't drag the court into all this," a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia told the petitioner.
The bench said the matter will be listed for hearing on Wednesday.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda on Tuesday visited the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) and Lady Hardinge hospitals here and met officials to enquire about the condition of protesters who were injured during the Cockroach Janta Party's march to Parliament.
Nadda also reviewed the medical facilities being provided to the students, sources said.
Hospital authorities briefed the minister on the condition of the students, saying that all of them were under medical supervision and receiving the necessary treatment.
The crowd at Jantar Mantar started swelling on Tuesday as protesters arrived at the site. The Delhi Police announced that Section 163 is still in place and people should not crowd around the site.
Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday visited the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital to meet the injured student protesters.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday visited Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital to meet injured student protesters, ANI news agency reported.
“In the barbaric attack carried out by the Modi government on unarmed children, many children were injured, and many policemen were also injured. Many of those children were brought to RML (Hospital). I came here today to meet all those injured people. We have been informed that except for one girl, everyone else has been discharged,” ANI cited Kejriwal as saying.
Meanwhile, AAP launched a helpline number -- 8588833548 -- to provide medical aid to injured protesters and legal assistance to family members of students who were detained.
Delhi Police has registered four FIRs so far and is in the process of filing two more in connection with violence, vandalism and other incidents during the "Sansad Chalo" march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and farmers' groups on July 20, sources said on Tuesday.
The cases were registered at Parliament Street, Connaught Place and other police stations, and invoke multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Arms Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, they said.
Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday claimed that the government was “trapping” them when they were called for a meeting with union minister JP Nadda.
“JP Nadda invited our panel to have a discussion, and they offered that they would find a solution and have a dialogue. And after calling us for talks, they were conducting a lathi charge here. So, they were trapping us,” ANI news agency cited Dipke as saying.
He added, "They even house-arrested Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka at JP Nadda's house. They took away their phones." Dipke said Das and Ranka could not be reached for three hours.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told NDA MPs at the meeting that stringent action has been taken against those involved in the NEET paper leak to ensure that no one compromises the future of the country’s youth.
PM urged states to work with the Centre to curb such irregularities in the national interest. His remarks came a day after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), marched to Parliament demanding accountability over alleged NEET exam irregularities and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Delhi High Court will hear on Wednesday a PIL alleging that Delhi Police used excessive force against protesters during the Cockroach Janta Party's Parliament March. The plea seeks judicial intervention over the brutal police action.
CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday questioned the presence of “trucks full of stones” at the protest site on Monday.
“And where did all those trucks full of stones come from yesterday? The Delhi Police aren't even letting a bird flap its wings here. Every one of our members is being searched, their bags are being checked, their pockets are being checked. Barriers were blocking everything; people weren't being allowed in. In such a situation, where did the trucks full of stones around Jantar Mantar come from?” Dipke told reporters, ANI news agency reported.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke, speaking about the police action against protesters on Monday, said the personnel could have used water cannons to disperse the crowd.
“If they wanted to stop the march, they could have used water cannons. They're just children, after all. These were 17-18-year-old children. We had been sitting here peacefully for a month. Nothing went wrong,” Dipke said, claiming that the first attack on Monday had come from the Delhi Police.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi on Tuesday slammed police action against protesters on Monday, saying the students have a “genuine problem.”
“This is no way to treat young people. They have a genuine problem, and we all know what that problem is. Every time they spend money, their parents have to take loans for them. They struggle. They have to go to coaching centers and do all sorts of things. They face immense hardships because they want a bright future for themselves,” Gandhi told reporters, according to PTI news agency.
“This is a very deep-rooted problem.There are thousands and thousands of young people like this. Every parent whose child is preparing for an examination knows what these children go through. We know how much they struggle. And these are children who do not have many resources. So they have a genuine problem,” the Congress MP added.
A day after his meeting with CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, union minister JP Nadda said the talks had went off “fine.”
“It was fine, it is always fine,” he said in a brief answer regarding the meeting as he arrived for the NDA Parliamentary Party Meeting on Tuesday, ANI news agency reported.
Singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh on Tuesday voiced support for the students protesting against alleged NEET irregularities and spoke against police action during the protest march on Monday.
“What happened today was very wrong. Students should not have been treated like this. I request the authorities to listen to the students' demand,” Dosanjh wrote in a note on his Instagram story.
CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday apologised to supporters of the movement, saying he “could have done better” to protect them.
“I apologise to all our supporters, especially the girls who were brutally beaten by male police officers. We could have done better. I could have done better to protect you from the inhumane actions of the Delhi Police,” he said in a post on X.
He further slammed the union government, and urged the injured to message him personally. “To protect one Dharmendra Pradhan, who is responsible for the deaths of more than 20 students, the Govt was willing to spill the blood of many more young students. If you were injured and see this, please DM me. I want to speak to you personally and apologise. We will keep fighting for all of you,” he added.
Security arrangements have been intensified in New Delhi, Central, North, South, South West and South East districts, besides other vulnerable areas, PTI news agency cited a police source as saying.
Multi-layered barricades have been erected at strategic points, while vehicle checking has been increased and patrolling stepped up, the source told PTI. Additional personnel have also been deployed around key government buildings, major intersections and protest-prone areas, the source said.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk's vital parameters remain stable, but he continues to refuse intravenous fluids and glucose despite repeated medical advice, Safdarjung Hospital said on Tuesday, as he extended his indefinite hunger strike.
In a health bulletin issued at 9 am, the hospital said Wangchuk is under the close supervision of a multidisciplinary team of experts from VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS, New Delhi, and that all necessary medical care is being provided.
"Sonam Wangchuk continues to receive medical treatment at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital under the close supervision of a multidisciplinary team of experts from VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS, New Delhi.
"At present, Shri Wangchuk's vital parameters remain stable. However, his blood sugar levels continue to remain on the lower side. His serum potassium level as analysed from a sample collected last night stands at 3.2 mEq/L, and he continues to have persistent pancytopenia, characterized by anaemia and low leukocyte counts. These clinical and laboratory parameters warrant continued close monitoring through serial investigations," the bulletin said.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday lashed out at Union minister JP Nadda's assertion that a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government, and asked that when "our fasting children's proposals" were known to all, was the government waiting to tear-gas and lathi charge them.
Sibal said on X, "Nadda: 'for the first time a proposal came from the protesters to hold talks with the government'.
How arrogant!" "Our fasting children's proposals were known to all.
What was the government doing? Watching and waiting to tear-gas and lathi charge them! Shameful!" the Independent Rajya Sabha MP said.
A day after the CJP’s “Chalo Sansad” march in Delhi, party spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Tuesday demanded clarity from the Delhi Police on the number of protesters still in custody.
In a post on X, Ranka asked the police to disclose how many people remained under detention following Monday’s protest and called for the immediate release of all those detained.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke continued his sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Tuesday, a day after the party’s 'Sansad Chalo' march ended in clashes between protesters and police.
The agitation, now in its 24th day, is being led by CJP over its demands for accountability for alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, reforms to the examination system, and the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.