The Jantar Mantar protests that forced Dharmendra Pradhan to resign: Timeline

Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation came after prolonged protests. Here's a look at the events that led to the decision.

4 min readJul 25, 2026 03:31 PM IST

Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation followed weeks of protests (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

Timeline of Jantar Mantar protests

May 16, 2026: Abhijeet Dipke starts the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) as a satirical online platform. Within days, the Instagram and X handles garner massive numbers of followers.
June 6: First gathering at Jantar Mantar after Abhijeet Dipke returns from the United States. Dipke’s comrades, supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, students, and aspirants of competitive examinations gather and demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
June 7-19: CJP organises periodic sit-ins, digital campaigns, to build awareness and reiterate the demand for accountability.
June 20: CJP returns to Jantar Mantar for extended dharna.

Students participate at the Protest led by Abhijeet Dipke at Jantar Mantar (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

June 21: Dipke appeals to NEET aspirants to join the protest after finishing the re-examination.
June 22-27: CJP continues sit-in. Several hundred people come to the protest site through the day. But protest is not yet a national issue.
June 28: Sonam Wangchuk arrives at the protest site. He is a familiar face from his protest fast in Ladakh earlier. He begins hunger strike, along with six students of the Left student organisation AISA demanding the resignation of Pradhan.
June 30: CJP intensifies campaign.
July 1-17: Support builds up gradually. Activists, opposition leaders, civil society personalities visit Jantar Mantar to express solidarity with the protesters.
July 18: Police swoop on protest site early in the morning, take away Wangchuk to hospital forcibly on Day 21 of his fast. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi speaks up in support of Wangchuk. Dipke announces he will continue Wangchuk’s fast at Jantar Mantar.
July 19: By evening, thousands begin to gather at Jantar Mantar for a planned protest march to Parliament on the first day of the Monsoon Session on July 20

CJP protesters at Parliament Street on Wednesday. (Express photo by Gajendra Yadav)

July 20: More than 50,000 protesters take over the entire New Delhi police district. Police respond with lathicharge, tear gas, and allegedly pellet guns. Protest degenerates into brickbatting and violence, more than 100 protesters and police personnel are injured. CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka meet Union Health Minister J P Nadda and submit a representation, but protest continues.
July 21-25: Protesters occupy Jantar Mantar and streets around the site almost round the clock. There is an outpouring of solidarity and support as people from around the country show up at protest site. There are similar protests in several cities demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Opposition leaders Sharad Pawar, Dimple Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray and others visit the protest site. Several prominent personalities from various walks of life extend support to the CJP’s agitation.

Students participate at the Protest led by Abhijeet Dipke at Jantar Mantar (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

July 21: Congress leaders led by Rahul Gandhi protest on the street outside the residence of the Prime Minister, and are detained by police.
July 22-25: Delhi Metro shuts down more than a dozen stations in the vicinity of the protest site.
July 23-24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers late-night address to students, promises tough new law to deter paper leaks. Wangchuk breaks his fast in the presence of Union Ministers J P Nadda and Jitendra Singh.
July 24: Nadda and Singh meet Das and Ranka of the CJP. CJP remains firm on its demand for Pradhan’s resignation. Gives government 24 hours to decide. Late at night, Prime Minister delivers a second address on social media.
July 25: As crowds continue to increase at Jantar Mantar, police lathicharge and teargas protesters. In the afternoon, Pradhan resigns.

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