NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that Ramlila Maidan turned into a scene of brutality as Delhi Police, under the BJP government, unleashed a violent lathi-charge on students protesting against irregularities in the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) examinations.
AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal wrote on X: “Look at the BJP’s dictatorship and hooliganism. Students had been fighting for justice for months over irregularities in the SSC exams. Instead of hearing their voice, lathis were unleashed upon them in the darkness of night.”
The tweet further read, “Think about it—the same hands that should have been holding books today are covered with wounds. Even media persons were stopped from covering the incident.
Open hooliganism is running in the country. Anyone who questions the BJP is silenced through lathicharge, thrown in jail at will, laws are changed overnight, and votes of those who don’t support BJP are cut. The BJP has not only destroyed democracy but made a mockery of the entire system.”
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the SSC students’ protest that had been going on for several weeks was shifted to Ramleela Maidan on Sunday. Bhardwaj said students and teachers, including young girls and boys, were holding a peaceful protest when Delhi Police, acting under the Centre’s direction, carried out a shameful, undemocratic assault.
Bharadwaj alleged that power was cut to plunge the site into darkness, after which plainclothes policemen attacked the students. Children used phone torches to capture videos, now viral on social media. The AAP Delhi Unit Chief said this cycle of brutality is not new.
“In the past decade, no group has been spared Delhi Police’s lathis — from traders protesting GST, doctors opposing unjust laws, students and lawyers, to army veterans at Jantar Mantar. Even dog lovers and ordinary citizens facing demolitions or evictions have faced beatings,” he added.