Congress MP Shashi Tharoor strongly condemned the police crackdown on Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demonstrators at Jantar Mantar. He questioned the legal and moral logic behind using a lathi-charge against a completely non-violent protest. Tharoor stated that a lathi-charge is inherently an act of violence that has no place when citizens are peacefully raising burning national issues like the NEET-UG examination irregularities.
The Senior Congress leader argued that the government’s outright refusal to permit a formal parliamentary discussion is what triggered the street protests and subsequent deadlock inside the House. Tharoor emphasized that while the ruling majority can ultimately have its way, the opposition must be allowed to have its say on behalf of the public.
The massive student-led protest, drawing solidarity from figures like Sonam Wangchuk, escalated when a “Chalo Sansad” march attempting to reach Parliament was stopped. Reports by India Today indicated that the force used to block the demonstrators sparked heavy slogans inside both Houses, linking directly to why Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met with Home Minister Amit Shah to coordinate a government response.
News Edit KV Raman
