Thousands of protesters took to the streets of New Delhi to demand the resignation of India’s Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, this Monday morning (20). Although the police in the Indian capital, which is under the control of the central government, denied permission for the march to take place, young people and students from the Cockroach People’s Party (CJP) took to the streets.
The main demand of the movement is Pradhan’s departure due to the leak of medical entrance exam questions. Around 2.2 million students had to retake the test. Considered the biggest protest to date, protesters also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das stated that he has been in the office of the Health portfolio holder, JP Nadda, since noon (local time), when the government began negotiations with the protest movement demanding the resignation of the head of education.
“Demands have been conveyed, including the immediate resignation/dismissal of Dharmendra Pradhan,” Das wrote in X. He stated that Nadda assured the CJP representatives that he would hold discussions at the appropriate level.
“However, no commitment has been made so far. The peaceful protesters will not rest until their demand is met!” Das said.
Das said the minister also assured that “there will be no more repression in Jantar Mantar” and the surrounding areas of the protest site. The movement’s spokesperson claimed that “there are still no reports that the police have stopped”.
However, security forces fired tear gas and attacked supporters of the movement with batons and baton charges as more than 10,000 people marched towards the Indian parliament in New Delhi.
Due to the use of police force against protesters, Priyanka Gandhi, leader of the opposition Indian National Congress party, said: “There are huge problems… But you are teargassing children and beating them? Why?”
In a social media post, a CJP spokesperson said they waited for two hours and had just a 10-minute meeting with minister JP Nadda, in which they handed over a written list of their demands.
After a chief judge of India’s Supreme Court compared some unemployed youth to “cockroaches,” protesters adopted the insult as a badge of honor for their movement.
Their campaign began online with viral satirical memes mocking the government and quickly amassed millions of followers on social media. But the Barata Popular Party transformed into a new student movement.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
