Protesters participating in the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march to Parliament on Monday said they would continue their agitation despite heavy barricading, an alleged lathicharge and the use of tear gas by security personnel, insisting they would not back down until their demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, were met.
Health Minister JP Nadda met representatives from CJP and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met HM Amit Shah both the developments indicate – a major ice break moment – hope things will move towards a constructive dialogue to improve the education system of our country.
The march, which drew students and supporters from across Delhi as well as other states, was stopped near Parliament Street after police erected multiple layers of barricades to prevent demonstrators from entering the high-security zone around Parliament.
Many protesters said they had expected resistance from the authorities but remained determined to press ahead with the movement. “They tried to stop us multiple times. There was heavy barricading all along the route. We also faced lathicharge and tear gas, but we will not turn back,” said Glory, a Delhi University student who participated in the march.
Several students accused the government of ignoring their demands despite weeks of demonstrations and hunger strikes. “A country that does not care about its students is bound to fall,” one student protester said. Another Delhi University student, Sanskriti Kumar, said the agitation would continue until the government responded.
“All we want is Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. We are not asking for something impossible that the government cannot fulfil. We are not turning around today; if we have come this far, we will see this through till the end,” she said.
Among those taking part in the march was 52-year-old Kaniz Fatima, a Jamia Millia Islamia alumna, who said she had been supporting the protest at Jantar Mantar since it began, including activists who have been on an indefinite hunger strike for the past three weeks.
“Is this not our country? Do we, as citizens, not have the right to raise questions and challenge situations we do not agree with? Why are they resorting to lathicharge against students who have come here only to demand their rights?” she asked. Calling the movement a defining moment, Fatima said the protesters could not afford to lose momentum.
“This is do or die. A lot of people have sacrificed a great deal for us to stand here today. We cannot lose momentum now, or we may never be able to rise again and demand what is rightfully ours,” she said. Seventeen-year-old Anshika from Badarpur said she had told her family she was going to school before joining the protest demanding Pradhan’s resignation.
She alleged that the demonstration soon turned confrontational and claimed she was dragged by her feet and restrained by two women police personnel. Displaying bruises on her hand, she said the protesters had come seeking dialogue, not confrontation.The anger of the youth and students at large are against the education minister and not against Prime Minister Modi but political rivals and opposition wants to take milege out of this unrest among the youth.Kejriwal,Farook Abdullah,Dimple Yadav and Chandrashekar Azad used the platform to revolt against the system and asked the government to mend the system that’s totally defunct.
“We did not lie to our families and come here so that we could be picked up and detained like criminals,” she said. “When it is time for elections, they come to our homes and ask for votes, but they did not even come to engage in a dialogue over the NEET paper leak. We are only asking for a dialogue. Are we not even allowed to hold a peaceful protest?” she asked.
The protest also attracted participants from outside Delhi.
Kismat, 20, who travelled overnight from Bihar’s Vaishali district, said she had hidden her plans from her family because they would have been worried about her safety. “I lied to my family and came here because they would worry about my safety. I did not tell them that I was coming to the protest,” she said. The protesters reiterated that they would continue their agitation until their demands, including the resignation of the Union Education Minister, were addressed.
जंतर-मंतर की सड़कों पर पड़े ये बच्चे आखिर किसके हैं?
ये किसी राजनीतिक दल के बच्चे नहीं हैं।
ये हमारे बच्चे हैं। ये आपके बच्चे हैं। ये हिंदुस्तान के बच्चे हैं।
इनके हाथों में पत्थर नहीं, किताबें होनी चाहिए थीं। इनके होठों पर नारे नहीं, सपने होने चाहिए थे। लेकिन आज ये सड़क पर हैं, क्योंकि ये अपने भविष्य के लिए लड़ रहे हैं।
इनकी मांग क्या है?
न सत्ता, न संपत्ति, न विशेषाधिकार।
सिर्फ एक बेहतर शिक्षा व्यवस्था।
क्या यह मांग इतनी बड़ी है कि इसके जवाब में लाठियां उठानी पड़ें? क्या अपने भविष्य की बात करना इस देश में गुनाह हो गया है?
प्रधानमंत्री जी बार-बार “युवा भारत” की बात करते हैं। वे कहते हैं कि देश का भविष्य युवाओं पर निर्भर है। यदि वास्तव में भारत का भविष्य इन्हीं युवाओं में बसता है, तो फिर इन युवाओं की आवाज़ सुनने के लिए प्रधानमंत्री के पास एक पल का समय क्यों नहीं है?
एक बार संवाद क्यों नहीं?
एक बार मुलाकात क्यों नहीं?
एक बार यह भरोसा क्यों नहीं कि सरकार अपने बच्चों की बात सुनने को तैयार है?
https://x.com/i/status/2079192280980971649
आज जो पुलिसकर्मी इन छात्रों पर लाठियां चला रहे हैं, उन्हें भी याद रखना चाहिए कि सामने कोई दुश्मन सेना नहीं खड़ी है। सामने उनके अपने भाई-बहन हैं, अपने ही देश के बच्चे हैं। कानून भी कहता है कि बल प्रयोग की सीमाएं होती हैं। कमर के ऊपर वार करना न केवल अमानवीय है, बल्कि अपराध है।
लेकिन आज सवाल सिर्फ लाठियों का नहीं है।
सवाल उस संवेदनशीलता का है, जो सत्ता के गलियारों से गायब होती दिखाई दे रही है।
इस पूरे घटनाक्रम में शबाना आज़मी और डिंपल यादव ने एक मां की तरह आगे बढ़कर इन बच्चों का दर्द समझने की कोशिश की। जेपी नड्डा ने बातचीत की, यह अच्छी बात है। गृह मंत्री से मुलाकात हुई, यह भी स्वागतयोग्य है।
लेकिन सच यह है कि आज भारत का युवा किसी मंत्री, किसी अधिकारी, किसी प्रवक्ता की ओर नहीं देख रहा।
वह सीधे देश के प्रधानमंत्री की ओर देख रहा है।
वह पूछ रहा है—
“प्रधानमंत्री जी, क्या हम इस देश के बच्चे नहीं हैं?”
“क्या हमारे सपनों की कोई कीमत नहीं है?”
“क्या हमारी आवाज़ आपके दरवाज़े तक नहीं पहुंचती?”
आज जंतर-मंतर पर बैठा हर छात्र सिर्फ अपने लिए नहीं लड़ रहा। वह करोड़ों भारतीय युवाओं की आकांक्षाओं, संघर्षों और उम्मीदों का प्रतिनिधित्व कर रहा है।
और इसलिए आज प्रधानमंत्री की चुप्पी केवल जंतर-मंतर तक सीमित नहीं है।
यह चुप्पी देश के विश्वविद्यालयों में सुनाई दे रही है।
यह चुप्पी युवाओं के दिलों में गूंज रही है।
यह चुप्पी पूरे हिंदुस्तान को बेचैन कर रही है।
क्योंकि जब देश का युवा जवाब मांग रहा हो, तब सत्ता की खामोशी सबसे ऊंची आवाज़ बन जाती है।
