Published Jul 21, 2026 | 7:58 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 21, 2026 | 9:26 PM
A protester holding a placard targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the CJP protest against NEET-UG paper leak. (Photo | Kaushik Raj)
Synopsis: On July 20, students rose at Jantar Mantar, raising issues that mattered and needed to be addressed. The Delhi Police tried to cow the protestors down with force. Even one of the reporters behind this story was not spared despite repeatedly showing his press card.
It will be remembered as the day when the Modi government was caught gaping.
On the morning of July 20, 2026, the government machinery swung into action by shutting down the metro stations closest to Jantar Mantar—the designated protest site in Delhi. This was where Sonam Wangchuk’s fast had happened, and this was where the Sansad Chalo agitation to protest against the exam paper leaks was also happening.
The protesters had arrived from all parts of the country.
However, a sea of people continued to arrive through other metro stations and on foot. By 8 am, not only Jantar Mantar but the entire three-kilometre radius around it was swarming with people.
Various estimates suggested that nearly one lakh people had gathered across the area. The entire road connecting Jantar Mantar with Janpath was packed with protesters. Delhi Police had barricaded the Jantar Mantar protest site, but thousands of people were outside the barricades while thousands more were inside.
Various estimates suggested that nearly one lakh people had gathered across the area.
The protesters had come not only from Delhi. They had arrived from all parts of the country.
A group of protesters from Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh said they had come to Delhi without informing their parents. One of them carried a portrait of Bhagat Singh, while another held a book by Dr BR Ambedkar.
“Our democracy is in danger. People are struggling. There is no freedom to protest. I myself was a victim of police excesses when I protested for my rights inside my university,” they told us.
Also Read: ‘Modi teri tanashahi…’: Protest against paper leak has expanded to questioning PM Modi
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which had called for the Sansad Chalo march, was formed as a website and online page on May 16, 2026, following remarks by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a court hearing a day earlier. Soon afterwards, Abhijeet Dipke posted on X, writing, “What if all the cockroaches unite?”
The post soon evolved into an online campaign, leading to the launch of the CJP website. According to CJP, its Instagram page crossed 22 million followers within a week. Its X account was later blocked by the Government of India, before being restored following an order of the Delhi High Court.
Protestors display placards.
Many initially dismissed the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) as nothing more than an online experiment for people frustrated with the government. But the movement soon found its first major issue in the NEET paper leak controversy, by which time several students had allegedly died by suicide after being distressed over the paper leak. CJP’s stand on paper leaks and student suicides forced many people, including established political parties, to take the movement more seriously. Public attention grew further when Abhijeet Dipke announced that he would return to India on June 6, 2026, after completing his studies at Boston University. He was welcomed by supporters and the media at Delhi’s IGI Airport, where he emerged carrying a book on Dr BR Ambedkar.
The same day, CJP held its first protest at Jantar Mantar before calling for nationwide demonstrations on paper leaks and student suicides, drawing support from climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and protesters across cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Jaipur.
After days of hunger strike by Sonam Wangchuk and students from the left-leaning AISA, CJP called for the Parliament march on July 20, 2026. Days before the march, Wangchuk was forcefully removed by the Delhi Police and taken to Safdarjung Hospital, triggering a large show of solidarity at Jantar Mantar. Several public figures, including Prakash Raj, Shabana Azmi and several Members of Parliament, stayed with the protesters late into the night amid fears of a police crackdown.
Also Read: Delhi Police drags away LoP Rahul Gandhi, Opposition MPs protesting outside PM’s residence
The CJP had asked protesters to bring either the Tiranga or a book on Monday. The most common book in the hands of protesters was the Constitution of India. The most frequently raised slogans included “Jai Bhim,” “Jab Jab Modi Darta Hai, Police Ko Aage Karta Hai” (Whenever Modi is scared, he puts the police in front), “Inquilab Zindabad,” “Vande Mataram,” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai.”
Protestors display placards.
Another young protester, carrying a copy of Bhagat Singh’s Jail Diary, had travelled all the way from Kanpur to Delhi. He said he had himself been a victim of paper leaks in Uttar Pradesh government recruitment exams. When asked why he had travelled so far, he replied, “There is dictatorship in the country. If I did not speak up today, I would have blamed myself for the rest of my life for remaining silent.”
There is always a danger of a personality cult emerging in movements like these. But that was not visible here. There was not a single poster of Abhijeet Dipke or any other CJP leader. A few people carried posters of Sonam Wangchuk, but the overwhelming majority of posters featured the Constitution of India, Bhagat Singh, and Dr BR Ambedkar. The books people carried were also mostly copies of the Constitution, books on Bhagat Singh, and books by or about Dr Ambedkar. There were no CJP posters either.
Many of the posters directed at the government were highly creative. One read, “Government is not equal to the nation.” One protester had written on a sanitary pad, “Pradhan, even this leaks less than you.” Another carried a poster that read, “1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.”
Also Read: Protest isn’t a language Narendra Modi’s BJP understands, only electoral outcome is
Almost every protester expressed the same concerns that democracy was under threat.
None of the people we spoke to mentioned CJP, Abhijeet Dipke, or Sonam Wangchuk. Almost every protester expressed the same concerns that democracy was under threat, paper leaks had become rampant, the country was slipping towards dictatorship, and the government was refusing to listen to students.
Even a Class 12 student was holding a poster that read, “Modi Means Murderer of Democracy in India.” When we asked him what had drawn him to the protest, he said, “I had been reading about the situation in the country for a long time. People like us needed a space to express our dissent, and this seemed like the perfect occasion. That’s why I came.”
Another striking feature of the protest was that many of those present were not victims themselves but had come to stand in solidarity with others.
Ravindra Kumar, now in his sixties, had come for his daughters and nieces. He told us, “In 2024, my daughter scored good marks in NEET. We thought she would get admission to a good medical college. But then the examination was cancelled. Our entire family went into depression. I have come here for my daughters.”
Another protester said this was the first protest she had ever attended. When we asked her why, despite so many protests taking place in the past, people like her had chosen to join this one, she replied, “Education is an issue that affects every household. That’s why you can see so many people here. Moreover, this government has become dictatorial. What disturbed us the most was that they are not even listening to us. Our anger has been building up over the years.”
Like many others, she had not come for herself. “I do not have any government examinations to take. I am an engineer. I came here for my country, for the future generations who will have to live with this dysfunctional education system.”
At around 9:30 am, protesters gathered inside the designated protest site began pressing against the barricades in an attempt to start the march towards Parliament. It was then that they brought down the first set of barricades.
Another striking feature of the protest was that many of those present were not victims themselves but had come to stand in solidarity with others.
Soon, all the protesters had reached the crossroads leading towards Parliament Street. One road led to the designated protest site, another to Parliament Street, and the third towards Janpath. Thousands of protesters gathered at the intersection, trying to move towards Parliament Street.
The police erected massive barricades across the road. Anyone attempting to push through them was met with a lathi-charge. Every ten minutes, the same sequence repeated itself.
Many of the posters directed at the government were highly creative.
Protesters would surge towards Parliament Street, trying to cross or climb over the barricades. The police would respond with batons and physical force, pushing them back. The crowd would then run back together in panic. In the chaos, many people were injured while running, and many lost their slippers.
The standoff continued for quite some time.
Around 12 noon, when the police realised that the crowd was growing too large to control at the intersection, they shifted the barricades further ahead on Parliament Street. This allowed protesters to move some distance further before being stopped again.
Groups of people sat on the roads. They fanned one another to escape the heat and spent the time talking.
Among them was Amit Kumar, an autorickshaw driver. He had driven his auto throughout the previous night and come to the protest early in the morning without sleeping. When we asked him whether he was worried about losing an entire day’s earnings, he replied, “Forget one day, I am ready to sacrifice even ten days’ earnings to save democracy.”
He then spoke about the government’s ideology. “Why does this government want a Hindu Rashtra? This country belongs to people of every religion. We are fed up with all this,” he said, adding that he had come for the future of his children.
None of the people we spoke to mentioned CJP, Abhijeet Dipke, or Sonam Wangchuk.
Even first-time young protesters displayed remarkable ideological clarity. A group of humanities students told us, “We chose the humanities when this government came to power in 2014, and since then the humanities have been on a continuous decline.”
This was also the first protest they had ever attended. When we asked whether they were afraid, they replied, “The government should be afraid of the people, not the other way around.”
By 2 pm, some protesters had managed to reach close to Parliament, where they were met with tear gas.
Meanwhile, when thousands of protesters realised that the police would not allow them to proceed through Parliament Street, they turned back from the intersection and marched towards the Janpath crossing.
In recent years, it had never happened that traffic at the Janpath crossing came to a standstill because of a protest. Even traffic at the Jantar Mantar intersection was usually not affected, as protesters remained confined within the designated protest site. But the crowd on this day was so large that it was impossible for the designated protest area to contain them.
It appeared that wherever you went in central Delhi’s Connaught Place, there were only protesters. For the first time in recent years, traffic across central Delhi had come to a halt because of a protest.
At the Janpath crossing, protesters raised slogans demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and condemning the Delhi Police. Central Park in Connaught Place was packed with people. It was here that the Delhi Police made extensive use of lathi-charge and tear gas.
Also Read: AI, GPS, TV news and Nehru to blame for police lathi charge on student protesters
Around 5 pm, the police began lathi-charging protesters along the road leading from the Janpath.
By around 4 pm, it had become difficult to even stand there because the air was filled with tear gas. People’s eyes and noses were burning. Many had covered their faces with handkerchiefs, while others had bandages on their bodies after sustaining injuries.
Yet, despite repeated baton charges, not a single protester was willing to leave for home. People remained scattered across the Connaught Place area. There was a great sense of anger against the government.
We spoke to a first-time protester who had been hit by tear gas. He said, “There is no freedom left in this country. Democracy has been murdered.”
Around 5 pm, the police began lathi-charging protesters along the road leading from the Janpath crossing towards Rajiv Chowk Metro Station Gate No. 6 in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
There we met a distressed woman, who said, “Now Narendra Modi should also resign. He is at the helm of affairs. We are only demanding our rights, and look at how his police are treating us.”
At the Janpath crossing, protesters raised slogans demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan and condemning the Delhi Police.
From around 5 pm onwards, the police intensified their efforts to clear the Janpath crossing. Protesters were chased away with a lathi charge. By around 5:30 p.m., traffic through the intersection had been restored.
We also asked Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Madhur Verma on camera why the police had used tear gas and force against the protesters. He did not respond.
At around 5:30 pm, after the protesters had been dispersed from the Janpath crossing, riot police reached Rajiv Chowk Metro Station Gate No. 6 and began forcing protesters into the station entrance. The entrance quickly became overcrowded, prompting people to run in panic. As protesters tried to come back out, police personnel beat them with batons.
During the chaos, one of the reporters working on this story was also assaulted despite repeatedly showing his press card and shouting that he was a journalist.
Also Read: Blame Gandhi – Mahatma and Rahul – for government ignoring hunger strikes
Soon afterwards, the Delhi Police began making announcements asking all protesters to return peacefully to their homes, warning that the police would otherwise be compelled to use appropriate force.
Even after hours of baton charges, tear gas and repeated attempts by the police to clear the streets, the anger among protesters remained visible.
Towards the evening, the protest had formally been dispersed from its major flashpoints, but the movement itself showed no signs of ending.
Even after hours of baton charges, tear gas and repeated attempts by the police to clear the streets, the anger among protesters remained visible. For many of those who had travelled from across the country, the day was about far more than a march to Parliament. It was about what they described as a fight to defend democracy, demand accountability for repeated paper leaks, and seek justice for students.
A defiant Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) announced that its sit-in at Jantar Mantar would continue until its demands were met. Meanwhile, on July 21, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, also launched a protest in support of the students at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Lok Kalyan Marg, terming the attack on students brutal and demanding the resignation of the PM and Home Minister.
Also Read: Protest isn’t a language Narendra Modi’s BJP understands, only electoral outcome is
(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
