Escalating the protest against the alleged lathi-charge on students demonstrating over the NEET issue in Delhi, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) youth wing president Digvijay Singh Chautala on Thursday shifted his indefinite sit-in from Sirsa to the national capital, accompanied by a convoy of more than 100 supporters.
The protest, which began at Tau Devi Lal Park near Lal Batti Chowk in Sirsa, was moved to Jantar Mantar after Chautala claimed that protesting students in Delhi had urged him to join them following another alleged police crackdown on Wednesday night.
A convoy of several vehicles left Sirsa on Thursday evening and was expected to be joined by supporters from Fatehabad and Hisar before reaching Delhi around 9 pm. Chautala said the protest would continue at Jantar Mantar until the students’ demands were accepted.
Police remained deployed at the Sirsa protest site, though no one was stopped from travelling to Delhi. Earlier in the day, students from colleges and universities, along with farmers, labourers and traders, visited the dharna site to extend their support.
Addressing the media before leaving, Chautala alleged that students protesting in Delhi were again subjected to police excesses on Wednesday night. “The students asked us to come to Delhi and stand united. If we remain scattered, it will be difficult to sustain the movement,” he said.
He added that JJP’s student wing, INSO, would also participate in the protest, and that volunteers would arrange support services for protesters at Jantar Mantar.
Reacting to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s allegation that the opposition was provoking students, Chautala said, “If the government’s work in the education sector had been satisfactory, no opposition could have instigated students. The growing anger is a result of repeated issues, including paper leaks.”
He also targeted the BJP government over its “Ram Rajya” claim, alleging that the treatment of protesting students was inconsistent with the ideals it spoke about.
Earlier, Digvijay Chautala had mocked INLD’s Rania MLA Arjun Chautala after the latter described himself as a “cockroach MLA”. However, when asked about those remarks on Thursday, Digvijay chose not to continue the war of words.
“I don’t want to say anything about anyone. What is happening with the students today is wrong,” he said.
Digvijay added that he had visited Jantar Mantar for the first time on July 20, and said the experience had changed his perspective. “What I saw there was extraordinary. It cleared all my misconceptions. I saw a changing India. I saw a fight for the country, and I decided to become a part of that fight,” he said.