Violence erupts as police, protesters clash at CJP-Left students’ rally in Kolkata
Violent clashes broke out in Kolkata’s Esplanade area on Friday (July 24, 2026), leaving several people injured as police used tear gas and baton-charged protesters
Violent clashes broke out in Kolkata’s Esplanade area on Friday (July 24, 2026), leaving several people injured as police used tear gas and baton-charged protesters during a march demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Held in solidarity with the protests in Delhi, thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party and various Left-affiliated student organisations took to the streets, demanding Mr. Pradhan’s resignation, justice for students injured during the police action at Jantar Mantar earlier this week, and the immediate dissolution of the Testing Agency (NTA). The march began at Sealdah railway station and drew students and people from different sections of society. Thousands walk to protest “The education system is unfair, we are only asking for a fair system which is accessible for every student, and we have a better future,” Udita Goswami, a 23-year-old student of Zoology and protestor at the rally told The Hindu as she raised slogans. Protesters raised slogans such as “Inquilab Zindabad”, “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign”, and “Modi jab jab darta hai, police ko aage karta hai” (Whenever Modi is scared, he puts the police forward) as the procession moved from Sealdah to Esplanade. Apart from the students, several elderly also extended their support to the young ones.
A 47-year-old engineer, Garima Kundu, arrived at the protest with a poster reading: ‘Dharmendra Pradha RIP (Resignation is pending). Ms. Kundu, who has a 12-year-old daughter, said that she came to join this movement for her child. “She is a school-going girl. One day, she will grow up and would want to build a good career for herself. What would she get out of this education system? With these people like Mr. Pradhan in the chair, my daughter will never be able to establish herself. I don’t want that,” she said. Several protesters also expressed solidarity with students injured during the police action in Delhi. Many carried portraits of Bhagat Singh, B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, copies of the Constitution’s Preamble, Ambedkar’s writings and George Orwell’s 1984, along with hand-painted placards. flags and songs such as We Shall Overcome and Give Me Some Sunshine accompanied the march. “How can any government be so brutal on its people? What happened in Jantar Mantar is barbaric and unacceptable and has never been seen before in Independent India. I have come here to support the young people and speak against the government’s atrocities,” a 66-year-old Prabir Saha, who has a small business in Kolkata.
The BriefWire