Thousands join CJP's Parliament march; Oppn slams govt for using tear gas

Nadda promises dialogue as protesters press 3 key demands; Wangchuk extends fast, demands meeting with MPs

The first day of Parliament’s monsoon session was washed out on Monday as Opposition parties protested over the alleged National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) paper leak and the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple, forcing repeated adjournments throughout the day. 

Over the course of the day, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi took potshots at each other. Modi took a dig at the Congress leader while hailing the young innovators behind India’s first privately 

developed orbital rocket. “I am told that the average age of the team working at the Skyroot Aerospace startup is just 28 years. It is these young minds who have made this possible. I am not talking about a 56-year-old young man; I am talking about a startup whose team, with an average age of just 28, has planted India’s flag in the realm of space,” he said in his customary remarks to the media before the start of the session. 

Gandhi, who turned 56 in June, responded later in the day to the PM’s remarks. In a social media post, the Congress leader said, “He is the most anti-youth PM in India’s history. He is so anti-youth that he can’t even take the resignation of a failed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.” Gandhi added, “152 paper leaks. 75 million students victimised. And not a single guilty person punished. Who got the punishment? The hardworking youth.” He said “tear-gassing” and “lathicharging” students were not democratic. “They have legitimate demands. The PM should accept these demands and do something about them,” he said. 

Parliament convened for its monsoon session, scheduled to continue until August 13, at 11 am as thousands gathered in central Delhi in response to the Cockroach Janata Party’s (CJP’s) call to march to Parliament. Protesters broke through a major barricade erected in front of the Parliament Street Police Station, barely a kilometre from Parliament, at 11.15 am. Minutes later, amid slogans of Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Vande Mataram, and Inquilab Zindabad, protesters tried to push through multiple barricades in the high-security zone, leading to a scuffle. 

Miscreants in the crowd also threw objects, injuring several, including police personnel. Several protesters sustained injuries, while many police personnel were seen bleeding. To disperse the protesters, police lobbed tear gas shells and carried out a lathicharge. The gates of the Parliament House building were shut briefly, as were some Delhi Metro stations. Internet connectivity in parts of New Delhi was suspended by operators on the authorities’ orders. At around 1 pm, police imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in the area, banning all gatherings. 

By Monday evening, the protest site at Jantar Mantar had been cleared — the stage dismantled, tents removed, and shoes strewn across the road — hours after police baton-charged protesters marching towards Parliament, PTI reported. The road leading to the Jantar Mantar protest site was closed from both sides. The stage from which climate 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 CJP’s month-long protest. 

Nearly 200 metres from the protest site, however, over 1,000 protesters remained on the road.  CJP volunteers said they would rebuild the stage, even as police told the protesters they could not demonstrate anywhere except at Jantar Mantar under Section 163 of the BNSS. 

Two members of the CJP met Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda in the afternoon. According to Nadda’s social media post at 4.37 pm, the protesters had, “for the first time”, proposed holding a dialogue with the government on Monday morning, and “our discussion continued from 11.50 am” in a “cordial atmosphere”. “They submitted a written petition to me around 4 pm, and I requested the protesters to end their sit-in and assist the administration in restoring normalcy,” Nadda said. 

According to sources, Pradhan met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the afternoon. 

The two-member CJP delegation, comprising Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, met the health minister at his residence. “We put forth three demands, including the immediate resignation of Pradhan, the release of Wangchuk, and ₹1 crore in compensation for the families of all Neet aspirants who committed suicide,” Das said. “The minister assured us he will discuss this at the appropriate level. However, no commitments have been made so far. The peaceful protesters will not rest until the demand is met,” Das said in a social media post at 4.15 pm. Ranka said it was only late on Sunday night that the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, reached out to open a channel of communication with the government. 

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked Safdarjung Hospital to file Wangchuk’s pathological reports and health bulletins, and said it would decide on Tuesday on a plea by the fasting activist’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, seeking to shift him to a private facility. Delhi Police described social media claims that Angmo was assaulted and her hair pulled by police personnel during the protest as “completely false and misleading”. 

In a handwritten note issued in the evening, Wangchuk said: “Seeing the brutality with which peacefully protesting youth are being dealt with, I have decided to continue my fast until the youth leaders are allowed to meet parliamentarians at Sansad Bhavan or I am allowed to meet them here at the hospital. Hopefully, the government will fix accountability for the education minister before that.”

With PTI inputs