NEW DELHI – Thousands of protesters marched today, July 20, to the Indian Parliament to demand the resignation of the Education Minister, in what is undoubtedly the most serious political crisis ever faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his third term leading the country.
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The challenge to the government was launched by the Cockroach Janta Party (Cjp), or Cockroach People’s Party, a student movement born on the web to protest against corruption, lack of opportunities for young people, and the disdain shown towards them by important parts of the Indian establishment. The Cjp is becoming a catalyst for the dissatisfaction of a portion of the population with the radical Hindu government led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (Bjp).
The security forces initially underestimated the scale of the protest. Then they responded to the challenge of the protesters – who had been denied permission to leave the area where authorities require sit-ins to take place – with the use of tear gas and charges with lathi, the long, thin batons issued to the police and Indian paramilitary units. The charges and arrests did not prevent thousands of demonstrators from marching towards Parliament, forcing the security units responsible for the complex to close and guard the gates.
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Today’s escalation in a protest ongoing since last June comes after on Saturday one of the most recognizable faces of the movement – educator and activist Sonam Wangchuk, on a hunger strike for three weeks – was taken by the police and brought against his and his family’s will to a public hospital where he is apparently kept under close surveillance.
The forced removal of Wangchuk, instead of demoralizing the protesters, convinced thousands of young people, overnight from Sunday to Monday, to converge towards the center of the Indian capital. Once there, the protesters chose the Parliament as their target just as Prime Minister Modi – taking inspiration from recent achievements by a startup in the aerospace sector – was celebrating the inaugural session of the monsoon session, extolling the great opportunities available to young Indians.
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