Sansad Chalo march
2026 Indian protest led by Cockroach Janta Party
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The Sansad Chalo march (lit. 'Walk to Parliament march') was a political march organised by the Indian youth movement "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP) on 20 July 2026.[1] The CJP movement is focused on demanding accountability for national competitive examination paper leaks, in particular the resignation of the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.[2] Pradhan had resisted calls to resign, decrying protestors as "disruptive elements".[3] The march started at Jantar Mantar with the intention to head towards the Parliament of India. Estimates suggest anywhere between 10,000 to 50,000 people participated in the march.[4][2][5][6]
| Part of 2026 Delhi Jantar Mantar Protests | |
| Date | 20 July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Parliament House, New Delhi |
| Location | |
The march was met with a violent police response. Uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, many of whom lacked any identifying markers or badges, allegedly launched attacks using batons and tear gas on protestors. Many Protestors marching towards the Parliament of India launched severe stone pelting, vandalised property and police vehicles, and assaulted security personnel.[2] A 19 year old protestor is at risk of permanently losing eye sight in an eye due to alleged indiscriminate use of pellet guns.[7] The victims of pellet gun injuries include an Outlook journalist.[8] Latest reports suggest that around 130 security force personnel and 65 protestors were injured in the violent clashes.[9]
Background
The Sansad Chalo March emerged from a broader protest movement led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which had been holding an indefinite sit-in at Jantar Mantar since 20 June 2026. The protests centred on the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and the CBSE On-Screen Marking irregularities, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[10]
The movement gained additional momentum on 28 June 2026 when activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest and began an indefinite hunger strike alongside members of the All India Students' Association (AISA). On 18 July, Delhi Police forcibly removed Wangchuk from the protest site and transported him to Safdarjung Hospital, an action CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke described as a "kidnapping."[11] Dipke subsequently commenced his own indefinite hunger strike in protest. On 20 July — coinciding with the opening day of Parliament's Monsoon Session — Dipke ended his hunger strike following an appeal by the father of NEET aspirant Riya Thapa, who had died by suicide, so that he could lead the march to Parliament.[12]
March
The march started from Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, with participants intending to march towards the Parliament House during the opening day of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. It was organised to press the demands following several days of sit-in protests and hunger strikes.[13]
The Union Government issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS banning assemblies of five or more persons in the New Delhi district, whereas the Delhi Police deployed over 5,000 personnel and closed five Delhi Metro stations in the vicinity of Parliament.[14] The CJP had not sought official permission for the march to Parliament.
Around 11:25 am, protesters reached Parliament Street and attempted to push through barricades. Police responded with lathi charges and fired tear gas shells at multiple locations, including Parliament Street, Patel Chowk, and Rail Bhawan.[15] Internet services were also suspended in parts of central Delhi during the clashes.[16]
Around 60 protesters were also injured, with 65 medico-legal cases recorded at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital by the evening. Delhi Police initially claimed that at least 118 security personnel were injured and around 15–20 government vehicles were damaged during the clashes.[4] Eyewitnesses alleged that police used force "irrespective of gender".[11] Gurdwara Bangla Sahib became a refuge for several such students and protesters fleeing batons and teargas.[17][18]
CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka met Union Minister J. P. Nadda on the margins of the protest and raised three formal demands: the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk, the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and financial compensation of ₹1 crore to the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide.[19] CJP later claimed the Centre had agreed in principle to hold talks on their demands, though this was not officially confirmed by the government. On 21 July, protesters reclaimed the Jantar Mantar site after police had destroyed the stage and tents the previous day.[20]
Violence
Around 11:25 am, protesters tried pushing through barricades in the precinct encompassing the Parliament, leading to a scuffle in which both protesters and police sustained minor injuries. Many protesters clashed with the Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, and engaged in stone-pelting.[21][22]
Before the march began, Delhi Police had invoked BNSS Section 163, which bans unlawful assembly of 5 or more people. The Police claim that no prior authorisation for the march to Parliament was taken, and only the permission of sit-in at Jantar Mantar was granted. According to Delhi Police, the police excercised constraint and issued multiple warnings to the protestors. Only after repeated warnings were ignored and protestors began pelting stones and attacking, did police resorted to using baton and tear gas against the protestors.[23][24]
Security forces were accused of using excessive force, including beating demonstrators,[25][26][27] dragging students along the streets,[28][29] and detaining students and children in police buses[30]. Protestors were accused of stone pelting, assaulting police personnel, and vandalising public property and police vehicles. Protestors also assaulted journalists, and heckled and chased female journalists covering the march[31][32]. Around 130 police personnel and 65 students were injured and 15 FIRs were filed against protestors/rioters, with charges including attempt to murder, rioting, assaulting police personnel, and disobeying prohibitory orders, among others.[33][34]
The Delhi Police used facial recognition cameras to surveil the protest site, through which it claims to have identified 2873 protestors involved in violence with criminal background, out of which 989 had records of serious criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder, rape, molestation, POCSO offences, robbery and snatching, arms act offences, narcotics-related offences, and kidnapping.[35]
Delhi Police was also accused of deploying plain-clothed personnel[36][37] wearing masks and carrying out crackdown against protesters alongside uniformed officers, during the operation. Images and videos circulated online showed officers in civilian clothing carrying lathis and participating alongside uniformed police personnel.[38][39] Separately, numerous uniformed RAF officers were observed without visible name badges, a requirement laid down by the Supreme Court in D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, 1996.[40] In an interview with The Lallantop, Delhi Police officials stated that officers had removed their name badges "due to the heat" and concerns that the "badges could detach" and be "stepped on".[citation needed] While the Delhi police denied the use of pellet guns, RAF personnel deployed in the zone used anti-riot guns firing ballistic cartridges and plastic pellets which RAF is investigating internally.[41][42] There were also reports of use of metal pellets beyond norms established for it.[43] Videos of security forces allegedly using batons fitted with metal nails were shared online which the Delhi Police denied claiming the videos were unrelated to the incident although,[44] Alt news, an independent Indian fact checking organization, procured multiple videos of the incident and using metadata, geo-location of the spot and witness testimonies, linked it to the protest on July 20.[45]
Some protesters witnessed bleeding from head and upper-body injuries. When protesters tried breaking through the final barricades on Sansad Marg, police used their sticks "irrespective of gender", while some demonstrators tried and failed to escape through an LIC building gate. Protesters also threw stones aimed at police and destroyed 15-20 police vehicles.[46][47] Multiple personnel of security forces reported fractures, head injuries, bleeding, and other severe injuries due to severe assault by the protestors.[48][49]
Delhi Police rejected the allegations regarding Police brutality, stating that it had engaged in maintaining public order in a professional manner and denied reports of any state violence or detentions during the protest. In a statement posted on X, the police said that "no such incident has taken place" and urged the public "not to fall prey to any rumour/misgivings" regarding claims of violence against protesters.[50][51]
Following the Delhi Police's denial of excessive police brutality against student protesters, the Supreme Court declined to urgently list a petition seeking intervention over the police brutality. During the oral mentioning of the matter, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined the request for an urgent hearing, stating, "Don't waste our time, and don't waste your time." When the petitioner's counsel referred to video footage showing police brutality at Jantar Mantar protest, the Chief Justice responded, "We are not interested in videos; we don't have time to watch." The matter was not granted urgent listing.[52][53][54] A PIL alleging excessive force by the Delhi police filed in Delhi High court is listed for hearing on 11 September.[55][56]
Responses and reactions
The police action drew widespread criticism from several opposition leaders and MPs, including Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Gandhi, Renuka Chowdhury and Arvind Kejriwal. Tharoor questioned the use of force, asking, "When a non-violent protest is taking place, what is the reason for a lathi charge?".[57][25][58] On the other hand, BJP MPs Kangana Ranaut and Hema Malini criticised the protests, questioning their objective, with the latter claiming that demonstrations do not resolve issues.[59][60]
The police action was also condemned by several public figures from the Indian film and music industries:
- Singer Arijit Singh criticised the conduct of the police and said that the actions of the Delhi Police will be remembered.[61][62]
- Veteran actress Shabana Azmi defended attending and supporting the CJP protest, recalled an asthma attack after tear gas, and urged the government to listen to the students.[63]
- Actor Prakash Raj attended the protest, condemned the police action, and called the treatment of protesters shameful, stating, "We shall overcome this brutality.. this Tanashahi ..".[64][65]
- Educator and Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey expressed support for the student protesters, urging the Centre to "listen to students" and stating that the movement was "not just about NEET".[66][67]
- Actor Salman Khan described the movement as peaceful, and urged that education should remain above politics.[68][69]
- Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap criticised the conduct of the Delhi Police during the protests, questioning "Is there one police personnel in this country who can stand up and say I won’t follow this order because it is wrong?".[70][71]
- Singer and composer Vishal Dadlani condemned the police action, and called for accountability.[72]
- Actress Alia Bhatt backed the students and stressed the importance of their voices, while asking whether anyone was "truly listening" to those speaking up for a better future.[73]
Several other public figures, including Dia Mirza, Vir Das, Sonu Sood, Huma Qureshi, Naseeruddin Shah, and Johnny Lever, also condemned the police brutality against the protesters.[74][75][76] Some also criticised the mistreatment and detention of activist Sonam Wangchuk.[77]