The national capital witnessed its biggest youth-led protest in decades on Monday, with tens of thousands gathering for the CJP’s ‘Sansad Chalo’ march.
By the time the first slogans echoed through Jantar Mantar, central Delhi had already turned into a fortress. Metro stations around Parliament were shut. Internet services around New Delhi’s major areas were suspended. Multi-layered barricades sealed off these areas. Thousands of Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel stood in formation, anticipating what would become one of the Capital's biggest youth-led mobilisations. Yet protesters kept pouring in, and joining the march.
Students carrying backpacks, NEET and other competitive exam aspirants, civil society volunteers, parents and young professionals reached central Delhi from across the country.
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Ironically, the morning also brought the first signs of dialogue. CJP leaders said the government had, for the first time since the agitation began, reached out for talks.
A delegation, comprising spokespersons Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, met Union Health Minister JP Nadda at his residence. At Jantar Mantar, there was cautious optimism that negotiations and the proposed Parliament march could proceed together.
The optimism, however, was short-lived. As CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called on protesters to move towards Parliament, he was joined by actor-activists Prakashraj and Shabana Azmi along with other CJP members and political leaders.
As the protesters moved towards Parliament, they found themselves boxed in. Barricades blocked every major approach to Parliament Street, Janpath and Raisina Road, while security personnel prevented movement from multiple directions.
The protesters complained they could neither march ahead nor leave the protest site easily. Within minutes, the first confrontation broke out. What followed became a pattern that repeated throughout the day. The crowd surged, policemen were pushed back, lathis were used and tear gas was fired.
From Parliament Street to Raisina Road and Connaught Place, this correspondent witnessed repeated stampede-like situations as swelling crowds collided with successive police cordons. Every dispersal merely shifted the confrontation to another road, where another barricade and another line of security personnel awaited. People struggled to breathe, several fainted, and many had to be rushed away from the site. Old and young demonstrators climbed dividers and squeezed through narrow lanes searching for exits.
Some shopkeepers in Janpath hurriedly shut their establishments, while a few quietly opened their doors to shelter frightened protesters caught between advancing police forces and purposely blocked roads.
The confrontations, however, were not entirely one-sided.
Near Regal Cinema, this correspondent witnessed an unidentified protester repeatedly picking stones from the roadside and hurling them towards police personnel.
Asked why he had resorted to violence, he replied, “They were brutally hitting my friend with the intention to kill him. They are beating us wherever they find us. If they hit us hard, we'll hit harder."
Throughout the day, the Delhi Police maintained that force was used only to prevent protesters from breaching security cordons and to control stampede-like situations that threatened public safety.
The protesters, meanwhile, accused the police of repeatedly using excessive force against what they described as a peaceful youth march.
Allegations also surfaced that several journalists were struck despite displaying their press identity cards while covering the clashes.
Amid the confrontation, politics continued in the background. CJP representatives held talks with Union Health Minister JP Nadda, while Abhijeet Dipke ended his 23-day hunger strike at the request of Sonam Wangchuk.
Wangchuk, however, remained at Safdarjung Hospital, continuing his fast while seeking permission to briefly leave the hospital and join the march.