Student protests gain national momentum
As the student protest led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) continued at Jantar Mantar on Thursday, protests were reported from across several cities, including Mumbai, following which nationwide protests have been called on Friday. The CJP urged people to “stand in solidarity with victims of police brutality across India.”
In Mumbai, students and activists staged a protest and demanded Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation at the Shivaji Park ground before being chased away by police, with some of the youths falling down.
Mumbai Police have registered 13 offences related to the protests in the city in support of the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. The FIRs have been registered since July 18 under various sections related to unlawful assembly and breach of prohibitory orders. Around 400 persons have been named as accused in these FIRs.
A day earlier, protests were staged at multiple locations in Mumbai in solidarity with the CJP stir against alleged irregularities in exams, leading to the detention of several people.
While Kolkata Police also received two emails seeking permission to hold a rally in the city under the banner of the CJP on Friday, SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M) held protests across Kerala, including a march to the Lok Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram, in support of the CJP agitation in Delhi and the alleged police brutality there against students.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and former education minister, Murli Manohar Joshi, came out in support of the protesting students. “It is painful to see young students from different parts of the country assembled for days on the streets of New Delhi. Their anxieties and concerns regarding the examination system are genuine and must be handled with empathy and a desire to find a lasting solution. I fervently hope that this is not treated merely as a law-and-order issue to be tackled through the use of force. It is very painful to see that even young girls were brutally mishandled,” he posted on X.
On the other hand, Opposition MPs and leaders of the INDIA alliance led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi led a march at Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Delhi’s Tees January Marg on late Thursday evening following a strategy meeting on the crackdown on protesters. “MPs and leaders of the INDIA alliance are peacefully protesting at Gandhi Smriti on Tees January Marg. We are here to remember the students we lost - the children driven to take their own lives after the NEET paper leak. And we go to stand with the students who lie injured today - beaten for peacefully demanding justice and accountability. India’s students are not alone. The entire Opposition stands with them and their demands,” Rahul said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray also announced a joint protest on Sunday to highlight the concerns of students and their parents over the alleged police crackdown on protesters during CJP protest march and the NEET paper leak controversy.
Simultaneously, Raj warned to “thrash” anyone who creates disorder during their “peaceful” protest in the offing. He said the march would start from Shivaji Park and conclude at the Siddhivinayak temple, stressing that participants would not carry any political party flags. Uddhav accused the Government of being insensitive, but said the student community was no longer intimidated.
