Talks and Tear Gas: Protesters Return to Jantar Mantar as Sonam Wangchuk Continues Hunger Strike, Rs 0ne crore for each suicide demands CJP
Sunil Negi,
New Delhi: Even as two representatives of the agitating students and citizens’ groups sat across the table with Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Sunday, the streets around Parliament and Jantar Mantar turned into a scene of lathicharge and tear gas, leaving several protesters injured and hundreds scattering for safety.
The meetings were held twice, first at 12:30 pm and again around 2:00 pm. While the dialogue was underway inside, police outside were pushing back a massive crowd that had swelled for the second consecutive day. Eyewitnesses said the charge was sudden and forceful. Tear gas shells were fired in multiple rounds. Several shells landed directly among protesters, and at a few spots children who had come with families were also caught in the smoke and confusion.
In the melee, hundreds of shoes and slippers were left behind on Sansad Marg, Ashoka Road and near the Jantar Mantar barricades as young men and women ran to avoid the batons. Many protesters, including a large number of girls, were detained and taken to different police stations. Their parents spent hours running from one thana to another with no clear information about where their children had been kept. Most were released late in the evening.
Despite the crackdown, the protest did not thin out. By Monday morning, hundreds of youth who had travelled from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi’s own universities were back at Jantar Mantar. Tents were re-erected, banners went up again, and slogans demanding accountability in the NEET paper leak case filled the air. The ground had the look and energy of the original gathering, with the same vigour, only this time with bandages, ice packs and stories of Sunday’s chase.
During the meeting with Minister Nadda, the representatives — one speaking on behalf of the climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and the other for the *Cockroach Janata Party* — placed a three-point charter. First, they sought permission for Wangchuk to release a video message on social media urging protesters to remain peaceful and non-violent. Second, they demanded the immediate resignation and removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for his handling of the NEET paper leak and its fallout. Third, they asked for monetary compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the families of students who died by suicide in the aftermath of the leaks.
Sources present at the meeting said the minister heard the demands and assured that they would be conveyed to the appropriate quarters. No concrete commitment was announced on the spot.
The decision to continue the agitation was reinforced after news of the lathicharge reached the hospital where Sonam Wangchuk is admitted. Wangchuk, who is on the 23rd-24th day of his fast, had been considering ending the hunger strike on health grounds. After learning about the injuries to students and the use of tear gas, he conveyed that he would not break the fast. His team said the strike will continue until there is a clear signal from the government on the education crisis and on protecting the democratic right to protest.
Sunday’s demonstration was notable for its breadth. Along with college students and coaching aspirants, farmers, working youth, women’s groups and senior citizens joined the march. Many said they had come not just for NEET, but because they see a pattern of paper leaks, joblessness and shrinking space for dissent.
The images of the day — a ministerial meeting on one side, batons and gas on the other — have deepened the anger on the ground. Organisers said the protest will remain at Jantar Mantar until the government responds in writing to the three demands and until detained students are given a formal assurance of no further harassment.
For now, Delhi has two parallel pictures. Inside closed rooms, talks. On the roads, tents back up, voices louder, and a hunger strike that refuses to end.
