CJP, Sonam Wangchuk plan peaceful Parliament march on July 20

The Cockroach Janta Party announced a peaceful march to Parliament on July 20, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged examination irregularities. The protest at Jantar Mantar, joined by Sonam Wangchuk, continued despite heavy rain and hunger strikes

New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party announced that it would march peacefully to Parliament on the first day of the monsoon session on July 20, even as its protest at Jantar Mantar entered the 20th day amid heavy rain on Thursday.

The youth-led outfit, which has been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities, accused the Delhi Police of preventing the protesters from bringing tarpaulins to the protest site despite heavy rain.

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In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the CJP said its Parliament march on July 20 would begin from Jantar Mantar along with educator and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike since June 28.

The CJP called upon students, parents and citizens from across the country to join the march to seek justice for students who allegedly ended their lives after glitches in competitive examinations surfaced, to demand a transparent and credible examination system, and to press for Pradhan’s resignation.

In an X post on Wednesday night, Wangchuk appealed to people across the country to join the march, saying Parliament was the appropriate forum to raise the issue.

“Thanks for all your messages to break my hunger strike, but that wouldn’t help the 20 students who committed suicide, nor will that help protect the mountains of Ladakh or the rivers of India…

“If you really want to help, then do a little more than messages from comfy couches; come to Delhi and to Jantar Mantar on July 20, when the monsoon session of Indian Parliament starts. Together, we’ll start a very peaceful march to the Sansad and appeal to our honourable MPs to take the issue up and find a lasting solution,” Wangchuk’s post read.

Meanwhile, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a video on X, showing him confronting Delhi Police personnel over their alleged refusal to allow tarpaulins at the protest site despite heavy rain.

In the video, Dipke contrasted the dry clothes of police personnel, who were sitting under a waterproof tent, with the conditions faced by protesters exposed to the rain and questioned why tarpaulins were not being allowed.

“Delhi Police is not allowing us to bring in tarpaulins. It rained all night, and we need them to protect the students who have been on a hunger strike for the past 12 days. For the last three days, we have been struggling to get the tarpaulins inside the protest site,” Dipke said in the video.

In another post, he thanked Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant and veteran CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali for visiting Jantar Mantar and extending their support to the students’ demand for Pradhan’s resignation.

In a statement, the CJP said Sawant assured protesters that he would raise the issue in Parliament during the monsoon session, while Subhashini Ali expressed solidarity with students, parents and youths affected by repeated irregularities in examinations. Both leaders backed the demand for a transparent and credible examination system and accountability for repeated failures, it said.

On Wednesday, doctors attending to Wangchuk said he had lost more than seven kilograms since the beginning of his fast. AISA activist Hrishikesh, who had also been on an indefinite hunger strike at the protest site, was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital after his health deteriorated.

The CJP has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation and compensation for the families of students who allegedly died by suicide over the cancellation of the NEET-UG (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate) exam for medical admissions and irregularities in other examinations. The NEET-UG, held on May 3, was cancelled over allegations of a paper leak. A re-test was held on June 21.