Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar defended the Delhi Police’s handling of recent youth protests in the national capital, claiming that 118 police personnel sustained serious injuries and that a lathicharge was resorted to only under “unavoidable circumstances”.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s State office on Friday, Mr. Sanjay alleged that “communist” and “communal” forces had infiltrated the ongoing protests being held in New Delhi under the banner of the Cockroach Janata Party. These groups, he claimed, incited violence and even attempted to target Parliament.

According to him, such elements “posed as students, created unrest in the city, raised anti-national slogans and assaulted police personnel, journalists and women journalists”. He maintained that the Delhi Police had exercised considerable restraint despite the challenging situation.

The BJP leader further alleged that attempts were being made to inflame tensions through malicious propaganda originating from Pakistan via social media platforms even as the Centre had blocked 480 social media accounts linked to the neighbouring country, as part of efforts to curb misinformation.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar also criticised the Opposition parties for seeking to politicise the NEET issue rather than discussing it in Parliament. He claimed that although more than two months had passed since reports of the NEET paper leak surfaced, the Congress and other Opposition parties had remained largely silent until recent protests erupted in the capital.

Turning his attention to Telangana politics, Mr. Sanjay urged Gen Z voters to question why leaders of both the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Congress had not resigned over examination paper leak controversies during their respective tenures.

“BRS is synonymous with paper leaks. Question papers were sold under its rule, and similar incidents occurred during the Congress government’s tenure as well,” he said.

Published - July 24, 2026 08:54 pm IST