Police used batons on supporters of India’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement on Monday as thousands attempted to march to parliament in New Delhi despite authorities denying permission for the demonstration.
The movement, which began months ago, has grown into one of the biggest public challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his third term in office, attracting widespread support on social media before expanding into nationwide protests.
Tensions intensified after activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike, was taken to hospital by police on Saturday.
The incident prompted thousands of supporters to gather overnight at Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi ahead of the planned march on the opening day of parliament’s monsoon session.
Delhi Police said discussions had been held with members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), but no agreement had been reached before the protest.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said the protest venue had already exceeded its capacity, with about 10,000 demonstrators gathered by Monday morning.
He warned that allowing more people into the area could create security concerns.
Large numbers of police officers and paramilitary personnel were deployed around the protest site as tensions mounted near parliament.
Television footage showed officers using batons on some demonstrators in a heavily barricaded area.
However, Delhi Police denied using force, insisting the protest was being handled professionally.
Despite the heavy security presence, protesters marched peacefully while chanting slogans demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Saurav Das, spokesperson for the Cockroach Janta Party, said the movement remained open to dialogue with the government despite the standoff.
“The administration is trying to open talks with the government. They have come very late, but we have opened our hearts and said that we are willing to talk to them,” he said.
The Cockroach movement emerged after question papers for India’s national medical school entrance examination were leaked in May, forcing more than two million candidates to retake the examination.
Many protesters said they joined the demonstration to demand greater transparency and accountability in the country’s examination system.
“All these leaders in power are illiterate and I am here to protest because we do not want question papers to leak,” said Adi Nathan, a 21-year-old student from Meerut.
“This should come to an end.”
Another protester, Mohammed Tabrez, said he travelled from Uttar Pradesh to support the movement.
“We want this corruption to end,” he said. “We want all the frauds in paper leaks, in competitive examinations to end and this is the reason I have come here.”
Ojo Triumph
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