CJP Stays at Jantar Mantar, Court Allows Wangchuk Shift, Congress Leaders Detained

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party remained at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday, a day after their march towards Parliament ended in clashes with police, while the Delhi High Court allowed activist Sonam Wangchuk to be moved from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta Hospital in Gurugram, media reports said.

More than 5,000 protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar throughout the day, and supporters refused to leave the protest site despite heavy police presence. CJP leaders said the agitation would continue until their demands were met, but the group did not plan another Parliament march immediately, citing fears of further police action.

The protest’s main demands remained the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination paper leaks, accountability for failures in the examination system, compensation for families of students who died by suicide after the leak, and the release or transfer of Wangchuk from government hospital custody, reports said.

The main development of the day came from the Delhi High Court, which directed Wangchuk’s immediate transfer from Safdarjung Hospital to Medanta. The court said Medanta should form a panel of doctors to monitor him and that all medical records from Safdarjung should be handed over to the private hospital.

The Centre told the court it had no objection to the transfer, but sought continued medical supervision and said Wangchuk should not be discharged except on medical advice. The court said the transfer to a hospital of his choice would address concerns over his rights while ensuring continued monitoring.

Wangchuk, who began his hunger strike on June 28 in support of the CJP protest. Reports said doctors considered continuous monitoring necessary because of his prolonged fasting, while his wife Gitanjali Angmo said he would continue the fast after being moved to Medanta.

Angmo welcomed the court order and said Wangchuk’s stay at Safdarjung had felt like detention and captivity. She said his health could have been monitored at Jantar Mantar and alleged that the hospitalisation had kept him away from supporters. Reports said Wangchuk had earlier described his stay at Safdarjung as “illegal detention”.

The hospital issue also drew a response from doctors’ associations. The resident doctors’ associations of AIIMS Delhi and Safdarjung Hospital wrote to President Droupadi Murmu seeking an independent inquiry into the Jantar Mantar events and raising concerns about patient autonomy, reports said. The associations said hospitals should remain places of treatment and not be seen as detention sites unless restrictions are legally authorised.

Police, meanwhile, moved on the legal front after Monday’s clashes. Reports said Delhi Police registered multiple FIRs over alleged violence, unlawful assembly, stone-pelting, vandalism of vehicles, obstruction of public servants and damage to public property. Investigators were examining CCTV footage, drone visuals, mobile videos and social media material to identify those involved, reports said.

The police said 118 police and security personnel and 60 protesters were injured in Monday’s clashes. Reuters said CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke claimed more than 150 protesters were undergoing treatment, but the agency could not independently verify the figure.

Delhi Police said protesters had displayed unruly, aggressive and violent behaviour and deliberately violated prohibitory orders. CJP leaders accused the police of using excessive force against students and women, saying protesters were beaten, dragged and tear-gassed. Police had earlier denied excessive force and said the protest was handled professionally.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the issue at an NDA parliamentary party meeting, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju saying Modi called for strict action against those involved in the NEET paper leak. Rijiju said the prime minister told lawmakers that the government had acted immediately, 13 people had been arrested and jailed, and a re-examination had been conducted.

Modi also said the Centre and states should work together to create a foolproof examination system and that the future of students should not be put at risk, reports said. The remarks were his first reported comments on the issue since the CJP protests escalated.

The government’s outreach to the protesters remained unresolved.

Union Minister J.P. Nadda met CJP representatives on Monday and sought time to discuss their demands internally, reports said. CJP representatives said they had submitted a memorandum but had not received a concrete commitment. Nadda later visited injured protesters at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

Parliament was disrupted for a second day as the opposition demanded a discussion on the NEET paper leak and the police action on CJP protesters. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned repeatedly amid sloganeering. The opposition said it was not being allowed to raise the issue, while the government said it was ready to discuss matters as per parliamentary rules.

The political escalation widened outside Parliament. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other opposition leaders, staged a sit-in near Prime Minister Modi’s residence over Monday’s police action. Delhi Police detained several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, while clearing the protest site.

Rahul Gandhi had earlier visited injured protesters at RML Hospital and called for accountability over the police action. Priyanka Gandhi said the opposition wanted the matter discussed in Parliament. Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said the opposition was fighting for students and would continue until justice was delivered, reports said.

Other opposition leaders also visited or backed the Jantar Mantar protest. Arvind Kejriwal addressed protesters at the site, Sharad Pawar met Dipke, and Aazad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad raised the matter in Parliament precincts. Mamata Banerjee said she would join the protest if needed.

The CJP also faced an internal controversy during the day. The group removed spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya from his post after a viral video purportedly showed him at a Burger King outlet during the protest. Dahiya defended himself, saying he had worked for the movement for weeks and was entitled to eat, while the party said the conduct was inconsistent with its movement at a time when protesters had faced police action.

Security remained heavy across central Delhi. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed around Jantar Mantar, Parliament Street, Connaught Place and other sensitive areas, with multi-layer barricades and vehicle checks. Traffic restrictions were also announced around some protest locations.

The protest began over alleged irregularities in a national medical entrance examination. What began as a youth-led campaign has widened into a larger political confrontation, drawing students, professionals, families, opposition parties, rights groups and doctors’ bodies into the dispute.

By Tuesday evening, the immediate focus had shifted to Wangchuk’s transfer to Medanta, the condition of injured protesters, police cases from Monday’s clashes, and whether the government would offer further talks beyond Nadda’s meeting. The CJP said it would remain at Jantar Mantar, while the government said action had been taken against those involved in the paper leak and that future leaks must be prevented.

Compiled from reports by Reuters, Associated Press, Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Economic Times, Business Standard, The Week and LiveLaw.