Delhi Police Baton, Tear Gas Student Protesters at Parliament
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- Delhi Police baton-charged and fired tear gas at tens of thousands of protesters from the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party marching toward Parliament on Monday, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over repeated NEET paper leaks, despite police bans, barricades, and internet shutdowns.
- Dharmendra Pradhan previously dismissed protesters as "the B-team of terrorists"; organizers say more than 20 students have died by suicide after the NEET leaks forced millions to retake grueling exams and delayed university admissions.
- The Wire reported thousands were injured — some seriously — while Delhi Police denied "sporadic use of violence" despite video evidence and photos showing officer brutality, including plainclothes officers among the attackers.
- The movement began in May after Chief Justice Surya Kant reportedly compared unemployed young people to "cockroaches" — a slur protesters reclaimed as their movement's name and a symbol of broader opposition to Modi's Hindu nationalist government.
- CJP leaders met Union Minister JP Nadda at his Delhi home on Monday, who "assured" them he would raise the issue "at the appropriate level," though spokesperson Saurav Das said no commitments were made.
- Sonam Wangchuk has been on hunger strike since June 28 and was taken to Safdarjung Hospital by authorities on Saturday, while three AISA students ended their fast Monday; Amnesty International India's Aakar Patel called the crackdown suppression of "peaceful dissent."
Why it matters: The Modi government's decision to deploy batons and tear gas against a youth movement over an education crisis that has contributed to 20-plus student suicides signals a willingness to suppress dissent rather than address systemic exam failures — and the police violence against overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators risks radicalizing a generation already frustrated with the system.
