Parliament march to continue for second day, will not back down until Union Education Minister resigns: CJP

NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has announced that its protest march to Parliament will continue for a second consecutive day. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke said the agitation would continue until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. CJP leaders said a meeting is currently underway to discuss the next phase of the protest. An official statement on the party's future course of action is expected soon.

The announcement comes a day after the CJP's Parliament march demanding Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation turned violent. The area within a five-kilometre radius of Jantar Mantar witnessed intense clashes between protesters and police. More than 100 students and 118 police personnel were injured in the violence. Hundreds of protesters were also detained. The clashes broke out around 11 am on Monday after Abhijeet Dipke ended his hunger strike and began marching towards Parliament with supporters.

The protest has now been shifted to the front of Kerala House. Students continue to gather at Connaught Place, Patel Chowk and nearby areas. Tens of thousands of students have been arriving in the national capital since Sunday night, and more protesters continue to join the agitation. Social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who criticised the police action, is continuing his hunger strike at Safdarjung Hospital. The police crackdown has also drawn criticism from Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and the CPM Polit Bureau.