A group of Opposition MPs, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday night reached Gandhi Smriti in central Delhi to express solidarity with students protesting against alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.

The MPs were briefly stopped by security personnel on way to the memorial of MK Gandhi from the leader of Opposition’s home.

The Congress leader later said that the Opposition leaders had planned to go to India Gate but were not allowed to do so.

Before setting out from his home, Rahul Gandhi said they were peacefully heading to the memorial “to remember the students we lost – the children driven to take their own lives after the NEET paper leak”.

Earlier in the day, the Cockroach Janta Party called for nationwide protests on Friday, urging people to “stand in solidarity with victims of police brutality across India”.

Here’s more on this and other updates:

Those who harm future of youth won’t be spared: Modi

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that “those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared”. The Union government has decided to set up fast-track courts “to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks”, Modi said on social media. “Have directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps in this regard,” he said. “This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students.”
  • In response, the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign reiterated its demand that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign over the alleged mismanagement of competitive examinations.
  • Responding to Modi’s comment that persons harming the future of the youth “will not be spared”, Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said that the prime minister was the one “who has harmed the future of our youth the most”.
  • “You allowed and encouraged the total capture and destruction of our education system – and protected every person responsible for it,” Gandhi said on social media. He said that the students’ demands were clear: “1. Sack Dharmendra Pradhan. 2. Apologise to the students. 3. Take action against those who assaulted them.”
  • Former education minister and veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Murli Manohar Joshi on Thursday said it was “painful” to see students protesting on the streets of Delhi. The students’ concerns about the examination system were “genuine and must be handled with empathy and a desire to find a lasting solution” he said. The BJP leader also said that it was “very painful” that young women had been “brutally mishandled”.

Also read: ‘People’s sympathy is now with the youth’: BJP workers worry about crackdown on protests

Ruckus in Parliament

  • On Thursday, both Houses of Parliament were repeatedly adjourned amid protest by Opposition MPs against the police crackdown on protesters on Monday.
  • Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said in the Rajya Sabha that the Union government was willing to discuss the alleged paper leaks matter in Parliament. However, the Opposition should not put forward conditions for the discussion, Rijiju said.
  • Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Opposition in the Upper House, reiterated the protesters’ demand that Pradhan must resign.

Police claim injuries, internet suspended

  • On Wednesday night, clashes erupted at Delhi’s Sansad Marg between the police and protesters holding a demonstration. While the protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party is taking place at Jantar Mantar, some demonstrators had reportedly arrived at the nearby Sansad Marg in central Delhi that houses key government buildings. This prompted the police to fire tear gas at them, reported the Hindustan Times.
  • The action came two days after the police used lathis and tear gas to disperse protesters during the march to Parliament called by the campaign. Protesters have since continued their sit-in at Jantar Mantar.
Play
  • The police claimed that some “miscreants” attacked them with bottles and stones at about 8.30 pm on Wednesday, reported India Today. Two assistant commissioners of police, two inspectors and another policeman were injured, the news channel cited a statement as having claimed. Two to three tear gas shells were fired in response, the police reportedly claimed.
  • Following this, the Cockroach Janta Party claimed that mobile internet services were suspended in the Jantar Mantar area. The campaign’s founder Abhijeet Dipke asked on social media if this done because the government was “planning another brutal crackdown”.
  • At around 2 am on Thursday, the campaign also claimed that the police had placed a damaged car outside the protest site at Jantar Mantar. Tagging the Delhi Police on social media, the Cockroach Janta Party asked why this had been done. “Everyone should remember this car has been brought here in this condition – important to record before they can blame it on peaceful protesters,” stated the campaign.
  • The Mumbai Police ordered an inquiry and removed a police driver from his post after a video showed him threatening youth protesters by saying he would “plant 50 grams of powder” on them. In Bengaluru, police registered an FIR against an Instagram user accused of posting allegedly abusive remarks about Modi in connection with the protests. Read more about this here.
  • In Nagpur, more than 100 young persons were detained on Thursday after holding a solidarity protest against the police crackdown on Monday’s march to Parliament, PTI reported.
  • Protests also continued in several districts of Bihar, where police used lathis to disperse crowds after clashes and alleged throwing of stones by demonstrators in Katihar, Begusarai, Bhagalpur and Darbhanga, The Hindu reported.

16 metro stations shut again

  • For the second day, 16 Delhi Metro stations were closed at 7.30 am on Thursday “until further instructions” for “security reasons”. The affected stations were Lok Kalyan Marg, which is near the prime minister’s residence, Rajiv Chowk located at Connaught Place, and Patel Chowk and Janpath near the Jantar Mantar protest site.
  • Central Secretariat, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, ITO, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg, Barakhambha Road, Supreme Court, Delhi Gate, Indraprastha, Khan Market, Jor Bagh and Shivaji Stadium were the other stations.
  • The campaign questioned the decision, saying that “people will come to Jantar Mantar anyway”.
  • Shops, offices and restaurants in Connaught Place were directed to shut by 6.30 pm on Thursday, ANI quoted an advisory issued by the New Delhi Traders Association as stating. The traders’ body said the decision was taken after advice from civic body officials amid a “critical situation” in and around the area.
  • Supreme Court lawyers on Thursday held a protest in the court premises in support of the student demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and read out the Preamble of the Constitution, ANI reported.
This week’s Chronology Samajhiye

Opposition reacts to Nadda’s press conference

  • The Congress on Wednesday described Bharatiya Janata Party leader JP Nadda’s press conference as an “endless series of whataboutery”.
  • Earlier in the day, addressing his first press conference since the Cockroach Janta Party called for protests demanding Pradhan’s resignation, Nadda said that any discussion on alleged irregularities in the education system should take place in Parliament. His remarks came hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologise for the police crackdown on protesters on Monday.
  • Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that although the protest is against the irregularities in the education system, it was the Union health minister who had held the press conference as the demonstrations continue. “This very fact reveals to what extent the Bharatiya Janata Party is indifferent to resolving this issue,” wrote Yadav on social media.
  • Azad Samaj Party MP Chandra Shekhar Azad continued his sit-in protest inside the Parliament complex. He is protesting against the police action on the protesters on Monday.

Written by Sneha and Sara Varghese. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar and Tanya Shrivastava.

Also read: