Protesters participating in the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march to Parliament on Monday said they would continue their agitation despite heavy barricading, an alleged lathicharge and the use of tear gas by security personnel, insisting they would not back down until their demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, were met.
The march, which drew students and supporters from across Delhi as well as other states, was stopped near Parliament Street after police erected multiple layers of barricades to prevent demonstrators from entering the high-security zone around Parliament.
Many protesters said they had expected resistance from the authorities but remained determined to press ahead with the movement.
“They tried to stop us multiple times. There was heavy barricading all along the route. We also faced lathicharge and tear gas, but we will not turn back,” said Glory, a Delhi University student who participated in the march.
Several students accused the government of ignoring their demands despite weeks of demonstrations and hunger strikes.
“A country that does not care about its students is bound to fall,” one student protester said.
Another Delhi University student, Sanskriti Kumar, said the agitation would continue until the government responded.
“All we want is Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. We are not asking for something impossible that the government cannot fulfil. We are not turning around today; if we have come this far, we will see this through till the end,” she said.
Among those taking part in the march was 52-year-old Kaniz Fatima, a Jamia Millia Islamia alumna, who said she had been supporting the protest at Jantar Mantar since it began, including activists who have been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past three weeks.
“Is this not our country? Do we, as citizens, not have the right to raise questions and challenge situations we do not agree with? Why are they resorting to lathicharge against students who have come here only to demand their rights?” she asked.
Calling the movement a defining moment, Fatima said the protesters could not afford to lose momentum.
“This is do or die. A lot of people have sacrificed a great deal for us to stand here today. We cannot lose momentum now, or we may never be able to rise again and demand what is rightfully ours,” she said.
Seventeen-year-old Anshika from Badarpur said she had told her family she was going to school before joining the protest demanding Pradhan’s resignation.
She alleged that the demonstration soon turned confrontational and claimed she was dragged by her feet and restrained by two women police personnel. Displaying bruises on her hand, she said the protesters had come seeking dialogue, not confrontation.
“We did not lie to our families and come here so that we could be picked up and detained like criminals,” she said.
“When it is time for elections, they come to our homes and ask for votes, but they did not even come to engage in a dialogue over the NEET paper leak. We are only asking for a dialogue. Are we not even allowed to hold a peaceful protest?” she asked.
The protest also attracted participants from outside Delhi.
Kismat, 20, who travelled overnight from Bihar’s Vaishali district, said she had hidden her plans from her family because they would have been worried about her safety.
“I lied to my family and came here because they would worry about my safety. I did not tell them that I was coming to the protest,” she said.
The protesters reiterated that they would continue their agitation until their demands, including the resignation of the Union Education Minister, were addressed.