How police, protesters spent night at Jantar Mantar ahead of Parliament march

Heavy force has been deployed to stop protesters from marching to Parliament. Express photo by Praveen Khanna

Despite the security arrangements, a large crowd has gathered on the road leading to the Parliament, where heavy police force has been deployed. The police personnel are equipped with tear-gas launchers, armored vehicles and anti-riot gear. Officers repeatedly announced that no one would be allowed to proceed towards Parliament and warned that any attempt would invite police action. About 12 companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have also joined the Delhi Police to stop the protesters from gathering near the Parliament.

About 3,000 people spent the night at the protest site and more joined in the morning. Delhi Police on Sunday said the protesters had neither sought nor been granted permission to demonstrate, and any attempt to approach the Parliament would be considered unlawful. The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan after question papers of key competitive exams, including NEET-UG, leaked, leading to cancellations and harassment for lakhs of students.

The protest at Jantar Mantar has seen dramatic developments over the past few days. Activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike drew a host of Opposition leaders to the protest site. On Saturday morning, Delhi Police swooped in and took Wangchuk to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment. Abhijit Dipke, the founder of CJP, then started a hunger strike.

How protesters spent the night

Around 4.30 am, about four hours before the march to Parliament was to begin, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka climbed the protest stage at Jantar Mantar and listed the slogans the protesters should raise. “Bharat Mata ki Jai, Inquilab Zindabad, and Dharmendra Pradhan istifa do… We will raise only these slogans,” he said. On the stage were Dipke and actor Prakash Raj. “We still have four hours to write history. There may be people who try to provoke you, but our protest has remained peaceful for the past 30 days, and the march will take place in the same manner,” Ranka said.

CJP founder Abhijit Dipke and actor Prakash Raj at Jantar Mantar. Express photo by Praveen Khanna

As the hours passed, the young protesters were seen motivating each other. Among them were three youngsters who had come from West Bengal. One of them said, “We are NEET students and recently appeared for the examination. This is our first trip to Delhi.”

Sudipta, who identified himself by his first name, said he wanted to join the protest from the very first day. “But after Wangchuk sir’s detention, it became necessary for us to show the government the power of the youth,” he said.

A group of around six students from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, who are preparing for government jobs, were resting on a footpath outside the enclosure on Parliament Street. “We came here at 4 pm on Sunday with full preparation. We brought blankets. The fight is long… We are desperately waiting for the morning,” Shankar Singh, one of the students, said.

The entire stretch of Jantar Mantar echoed with slogans throughout the night. People continued to arrive and leave the protest site. Among those at the protest site were students from Delhi’s UPSC aspirants’ hub Mukherjee Nagar and from Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University. A group of students from Jamia said they were hopeful. “We hope for a change through this protest. Earlier, we thought it was a small protest and had no impact, but now it seems that it has made the government restless,” Muneeb Khan, a student, said.