March to Parliament: Protesters’ anger extends beyond paper leaks
Four years after the Prime Minister inaugurated the Central Vista Avenue and renamed Rajpath as Kartavya Path, police jeeps and motorcycle-borne police personnel drove on
Four years after the Prime Minister inaugurated the Central Vista Avenue and renamed Rajpath as Kartavya Path, police jeeps and motorcycle-borne police personnel drove on the verdant lawns, chasing down protesters who had gathered on Monday (July 20, 2026) morning to take part in the march to Parliament. The call was given by the newly-minted Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), born on social media and focused solely on demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. But the accrued discontent of the protesters went beyond anger over the spate of paper leak incidents. Their collective despair centred on what they saw as the government’s indifference and refusal to even acknowledge their concerns. Follow CJP protest in Delhi LIVE updates on July 20 One of the many common threads connecting those who faced police lathis was that many of them had voted for the BJP in the past or came from families that had traditionally supported the BJP, making their disappointment more acute. “How can the government continue to ignore the spate of paper leaks?” asked Sadhna Singh (name changed). Ms. Singh wanted her real name to be withheld fearing retributive action from the government. The government, she said, sends regular updates on various social media groups but did not say a word about the paper leaks or recognise the protest.
“You your achievements. Yesterday, P.V. Sindhu won a gold medal in Japan in badminton, and the government is claiming credit for it. But you can’t bear to even acknowledge this,” Ms. Singh said. Next to her, 50-year-old Kavita Verma had joined the protest. She has voted for the BJP since 2014. ‘Modi’s arrogance’ “I felt pride for the brilliant roads they gave us. They did good work in the initial years, but it has been a sharp downslide. People can clearly see Narendra Modi’s arrogance. You cannot run a country on the power of a lathi,” she said. She is angry that the peaceful protest was disrupted by police using lathis and tear gas shells. “Why are the students being treated as terrorists?” she added. This group was resting at Rafi Marg, next to the artificial water body, at 1 p.m. after they were dispersed by the police from the barricade close to the Press Club of India. Since entry to Metro stations had been closed, they were wondering how to return home. The calm broke with a fresh surge of protesters being chased down Rafi Marg by the police. Delhi Police vans and buses rolled down the road, picking up protesters at random and stuffing them into the vehicles. The protesters ran to the India Gate lawns.
The BriefWire