New Delhi: Supporters of India’s youth-led “cockroach” movement were caned by police on Monday as they sought to march on parliament in the capital, New Delhi, despite authorities denying permission for the massive protest. The months-old movement and the planned protest are widely seen as the biggest public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term in office, drawing millions of passionate supporters on social media before broadening its political appeal.
A police decision to forcibly move hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital on Saturday has heavily galvanized the movement, with thousands of young supporters arriving through the night at the protest site of Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi for the march on the opening day of parliament’s monsoon session.
Delhi police held multiple meetings with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) members, but no consensus had yet been reached, Sachin Sharma, Delhi’s deputy commissioner of police, told Reuters. “The protest site has already run out of space and this can lead to an untoward situation,” he said, adding that there were around 10,000 protesters gathered on Monday morning.
Scores of police and paramilitary security personnel were also deployed at the site, creating a tense standoff close to parliament as the march moved ahead. Television visuals showed police using batons to disperse some protesters in a heavily barricaded area. However, Delhi Police denied any excessive use of force and maintained that the “protest is being handled professionally.”
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and his supporters began a sit-in last month seeking the immediate resignation of Pradhan. Sonam Wangchuk joined them on June 28, launching an indefinite hunger strike at the venue.
In a handwritten note from the hospital posted on his X account on Monday, Wangchuk stated he would end his fast if the government took full responsibility for recent failures in the education system and paper leaks, or if CJP protesters were allowed to reach parliament and lawmakers assured them that they would raise these issues. He added that he would also end his hunger strike if lawmakers and leaders of various parties met him in the hospital with the same assurances, as his health did not permit him to physically march.
മലയാളം ലഘു വിവരണം
ചോദ്യപേപ്പർ ചോർച്ചയ്ക്കും തൊഴിലില്ലായ്മയ്ക്കുമെതിരെ കോക്ക്റോച്ച് ജനതാ പാർട്ടി (സി.ജെ.പി) ഡെൽഹിയിൽ നടത്തിയ പാർലമെന്റ് മാർച്ചിന് നേരെ പോലീസ് ബലപ്രയോഗം നടത്തി. നിരാഹാര സമരം കിടന്ന സോഷ്യൽ ആക്ടിവിസ്റ്റ് സോനം വാങ്ചുക്കിനെ പോലീസ് ബലംപ്രയോഗിച്ച് മാറ്റിയതിൽ പ്രതിഷേധിച്ചും വിദ്യാഭ്യാസ മന്ത്രി ധർമ്മേന്ദ്ര പ്രധാന്റെ രാജി ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടുമാണ് ആയിരക്കണക്കിന് വിദ്യാർത്ഥികൾ തെരുവിലിറങ്ങിയത്.
(With inputs from NBC)
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