India’s opposition MPs held a protest in the parliament premises in New Delhi on Wednesday wearing black clothes as they called out ‘police brutality’ in Monday’s crackdown on youth protesters in the capital.

The lawmakers are protesting against the ‘Modi government’s mishandling of the students’ movement, and the continuation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in office’, the opposition Congress party said. 

India’s main leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi were present at the demonstration, after being briefly detained the previous evening during their protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence, where they called for the Indian leader’s resignation. 

“Students have genuine demands and are asking for their rights,” Priyanka Gandhi told the media on Wednesday, adding that there was ‘nothing undemocratic about peaceful protest’.

The opposition lawmakers’ protest comes as the Indian parliament tries to proceed with its third day of the monsoon session.

The parliament has had a rocky start to its second session of the year, as thousands of young protesters tried to march to its gates on Monday demanding Pradhan’s resignation and broader reforms to the country’s examination system.

Inside the bicameral parliament, disruptions by opposition MPs demanding a discussion on entrance exam paper leaks over the last three days have led to the recurrent adjournment of both houses – the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. 

Education minister breaks silence

Meanwhile, India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration was committed to addressing the concerns of youth protesters and examination reforms, as he broke his silence amid intensifying calls for his resignation. 

Protesters have asked Pradhan to step down, angered by a slew of entrance test paper leaks, including those of a major medical school entrance exam called National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The NEET paper leak in May forced over two million students to re-sit the highly-competitive exam, leading to some young applicants taking their own lives.

“Our Government remains 100% committed to discussing NEET and addressing every genuine concern of our youth on the floor of the House,” Pradhan said on X.

He criticised opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party’s Tuesday protest outside Modi’s residence, describing it as a ‘political spectacle’, and saying that the government conveyed its readiness for a comprehensive discussion on the students’ issues.

“The students of India deserve far better than being treated as props in a political campaign. They deserve certainty over chaos, solutions over slogans and responsibility over disruption,” Pradhan said, referring to Gandhi’s demonstration.

He said that students were owed ‘answers, reforms and accountability’ and the Modi government ‘remains committed to delivering’. 

The statement is Pradhan’s first on the youth protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that started as a sit-in demonstration at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 20 and quickly snowballed into a protest march on Monday, drawing thousands of protesters into the streets of central Delhi – India’s main corridor of political power.

Police had denied permission for the march to the Indian parliament but the ‘Cockroach’ protesters pushed ahead, clashing with police who used tear gas and batons to push them back.

According to official figures, nearly 180 people  – including 118 police personnel and 60 protesters –  were injured.

SC declines hearing

Besides, India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday declined an urgent hearing of a petition raising the issue of how the police handled the student protest in New Delhi earlier this week, legal news websites LiveLaw and Bar and Bench reported.

“Please don’t waste our time and don’t waste yours. Your time is more valuable than ours,” Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told a lawyer who wanted to get the petition listed for hearing on Thursday, Bar and Bench Reported.

When the lawyer stated before the three-judge that there were videos showing police brutality, the top judge said: “We are not interested in videos; we don’t have time to watch,” LiveLaw reported.

It was India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant who unintentionally inspired the Cockroach Janta party movement’s name after he likened some unemployed youth to ‘cockroaches’ and ‘parasites’ during a court proceeding, in controversial remarks that sparked a social media outcry.

Wangchuk urged to end hunger strike

“The country needs him, and his life is far too precious to be put at further risk. The peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until our demands are met,” CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said.

Earlier Dipke criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing activist Sonam Wangchuk’s hunger strike.

“Tell the country why have you not reached out to Sonam Wangchuk yet to resolve the issue and end his hunger strike?” Dipke said.

Wangchuk was forcibly taken by the police to a hospital during his hunger strike but has reportedly continued to fast in support of CJP’s demands.

On Tuesday, a court allowed the 59-year-old activist to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice after a petition filed by his wife alleged that he was in ‘illegal detention’.

DW