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 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 20One 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 advertise 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. Tear Gas used by security personnel during Cockroach Janta Party Infront of Parliament House during March, in New Delhi on Monday. | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA ‘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. Just as they settled down there to continue their agitation, police motorcycles and vans arrived, driving on the lawns to chase them away.Rachna Chawla, 26, an IT professional, spoke to The Hindu even as a police motorcycle tailed the group. Ms. Chawla said that while anger over the paper leaks may have been the starting point, the protests had grown beyond that.In Pictures | CJP protest march to ParliamentCockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and supporters protest seeking resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities and NEET paper leak, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20, 2026.Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party during the Parliament March in New Delhi on July 20, 2026.Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party during the Parliament March in New Delhi on July 20, 2026.Braving the rains, a CJP supporter takes part in the protest with the Constitution. A CJP protestor gives instructions ahead of the march from Jantar Mantar. Security personnel seen deployed in the early hours at Jantar Mantar.Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party during the Parliament March in New Delhi on July 20, 2026Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) supporters raise slogans as they gather ahead of a protest march, at the Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi, early Monday, July 20, 2026. Police and security personnel remove CJP supporters ahead of a protest march, near the Jantar Mantar.Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party during the Parliament March in New Delhi on July 20, 2026Patel Chowk Delhi Metro gates seen closed, in a bid to dussuade the CJP march. Actor Shabana Azmi at the CJP protest in Jantar Mantar.Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) supporters rest at the Jantar Mantar, as they gather ahead of a protest march, in New Delhi, early Monday, July 20, 2026. Delhi Police is on high alert ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament and CJP's proposed "Chalo Sansad" march on July 20, 2026, with heavy deployment of personnel visible at every nook and corner around Jantar Mantar, Parliament and other key locations.1/3Change after noonMs. Chawla said she was surprised that for the first few hours the movement was unhindered, but something changed after noon. The conversation was punctuated by police sirens and persistent honking from police vans, warning protesters to stay away. Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke sits after the protest seeking resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities and NEET paper leak, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on July 20, 2026. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap Ms. Chawla voted for the BJP in the past, but now hopes for a political change.It started raining, and the protesters crowded at the bus stand on Janpath. Nishant, 26, who hails from Nawada, Bihar, is livid. His life is not marked by stories of paper leaks. His anger is for inchoate reasons — from his low salary, to long hours of working, to the one-room tenement that he shares with his family near R.K. Puram, to schools shut down in his village, to rising inflation, to the ethanol-mixed petrol that is affecting his old motorcycle; the reasons keep going on.“I voted for BJP, twice,” he underlined. “The government is blind, mute and deaf. It can’t see the protests, it can’t hear our complaints and it can’t speak a word about all this,” he said.A little ahead on Janpath, four engineering students — 21-year-olds Rakesh Nagpal, Pranesh Rawat, Ram Pratap and Kunal Pratap from Faridabad — were preparing to leave. None of them had informed their families that they were attending the protest, worrying that they would not be allowed to come. Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) standing on a roof of bus during a protest march to demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET exam irregularities, near Parliament House, in New Delhi on Monday (July 20, 2026). | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR ‘BJP doing nothing’“We come from families who have traditionally voted for the BJP. We too have voted for them. BJP was good in the beginning; now they are doing nothing,” Mr. Nagpal said.The engineering students believe that those running the paper leak network remain untouched while the government continues to treat each leak as an isolated incident, nabbing only the lowest operative in the chain.“You are claiming that the person who was photocopying leaked the paper, or that one chemistry teacher alone is behind the leak of the NEET paper. This is ridiculous, and clearly the government is covering up someone higher up,” Mr. Rawat said.The conversation ended abruptly as another group of protesters, herded by Delhi Police personnel and raising slogans, marched down Maulana Azad Marg.