India’s youth-led movement said it would continue its protest demanding the resignation of the education minister on Tuesday, a day after violent protests disrupted central Delhi, injuring scores of protesters and police personnel.
Protest Demands
Thousands of protesters from Delhi and nearby cities and towns gathered to march on parliament on Monday, joining a movement that began as an online satire but has turned out to become the biggest challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term.
The months-old movement by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party has drawn the support of millions of young, Gen Z Indians who are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper leaks that affected more than 2 million students in May.
Nearly 180 people were injured and taken to nearby state-run hospitals on Monday, with a majority of them discharged after first-aid, after clashes between the protesters and security personnel in which police used cane charges and tear gas.
Government Response
Delhi Police said that the injured included more than 118 security and police personnel and 60 protesters. Seventy protesters had been detained and legal action would be initiated against them, it said in a statement late on Monday.
Health Minister J.P. Nadda met two CJP leaders and sought time to discuss their demands within the government. The demands include the release of activist Sonam Wangchuk, Pradhan’s resignation and compensation of 10 million rupees ($104,000) for each student who died by suicide following the leak.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
