Thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) gathered at Jantar Mantar on Monday and attempted to march towards Parliament, prompting Delhi Police to resort to a mild lathi charge to disperse the protesters.
The party has called the 'Chalo Sansad' march to protest alleged irregularities in the NEET examination and to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Delhi Police have denied permission for the march and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) across the New Delhi district.
According to reports, the demonstration, which began at Jantar Mantar, led to major traffic disruptions in parts of the national capital as a heavy deployment of security personnel was made to contain the gathering.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Atishi, joined the protest at Jantar Mantar. Earlier, Sisodia had appealed to people, irrespective of their political affiliation, to participate in the march to Parliament as a show of solidarity with the country's youth.
According to Delhi Police, the organisers had not sought official permission to hold the march. The protest was originally announced by activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was admitted to a hospital on Saturday morning.
Security has been tightened across the national capital, with several entry points converted into high-security zones featuring multi-layered barricading, enhanced surveillance, anti-sabotage checks and round-the-clock patrolling.
Additional security personnel have also been deployed around Parliament Street, Central Vista, Connaught Place, Shankar Chowk and other key installations, while rapid response teams remain on standby to deal with any untoward situation.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) closed five metro stations—Rajiv Chowk, Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Seva Teerth—on Monday as a precautionary measure in view of the security arrangements.
