On Monday, thousands of students marched towards Parliament as part of the ‘Chalo Sansad’ protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The demonstration against alleged irregularities in the education sector and paper leaks turned violent, with visuals showing Delhi Police using lathi charges and tear gas to disperse the crowd. A day after condemning the police action against protesters, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has once again voiced his support for the ongoing student protests in Delhi. The filmmaker has now said that the young protesters are no longer willing to be distracted and are demanding answers from the government, as many of them are now old enough to vote.
Anurag Kashyap on CJP-led protest in Delhi
On Wednesday, Anurag took to Instagram and shared a note backing the CJP-led protest. He wrote, “What they don’t understand about the kids who’ve come down on the streets to protest is that they were between 2-6 when the PM came to power. All they’ve seen is Congress-mukt Bharat and they’re tired of it. They want answers, and they really want them. Kisi aur ko gaali deke iss baar nahin chalega. In bachchon ke sawaal poochhne aur vote dene ka time aa gaya hai (This time, you can’t get away with abusing someone else. It’s time these young people start asking questions and are ready to vote).”
Earlier, Anurag had taken to Instagram to criticise the police action against the students. He wrote, “Wardi pehenne ke liye aatma ka, aatmiyta ka, sabka sauda karna padta hai. Maloom nahi tha. Kya ek police wala hai is desh mein jo khada ho ke bol sake main iss aadesh ka palan nahin karoonga kyonki ye galat hai (I didn’t know you have to sell your soul and conscience to wear a police uniform. Is there even one police officer in this country who can stand up and say, ‘I won’t follow this order because it is wrong’?).”
About the ongoing protest
The recent student protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began as a youth-led movement demanding reforms in India’s education system. The protesters have been calling for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the education sector, particularly the alleged NEET paper leaks. Social activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the protest earlier this month and began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
On Monday, the protest turned violent as demonstrators marched towards Parliament. According to Delhi Police, protesters displayed aggressive and violent behaviour, refused to disperse despite repeated warnings and violated prohibitory orders in force. The protesters, however, alleged that police personnel used force indiscriminately, resulting in injuries to several demonstrators. Several public figures, including Shabana Azmi, Pratibha Ranta and Prakash Raj, have expressed support for the students. Although the protesters met representatives of the central government on Tuesday, the agitation is continuing.