Thousands of protesters marching towards Parliament as part of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) demonstration were met with barricades, tear gas, lathi blows and detentions as a heavy police deployment tried to contain the march.

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Curiously, the government engaged the protest’s representatives only on the protest’s 30th day, coinciding with the ‘Chalo Sansad’ march. CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said he and Ashutosh Ranka were on their way to meet senior BJP leader and Union health minister JP Nadda on the organisation’s behalf, adding that the government had reached out for talks that morning. “Our demands are clear,” he said, noting the scale of the turnout: “The youth has gathered in huge numbers.”

#IMPORTANT: It’s 11:52 AM. Ashutosh Ranka and I, on behalf of the Cockroach Janta Party, are on our way to meet J.P. Nadda. The government had reached out for talks in the morning. Our demands are clear. The youth has gathered in huge numbers.We shall win!— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) July 20, 2026

#IMPORTANT: It’s 11:52 AM. Ashutosh Ranka and I, on behalf of the Cockroach Janta Party, are on our way to meet J.P. Nadda. The government had reached out for talks in the morning. Our demands are clear. The youth has gathered in huge numbers.We shall win!

#UPDATE: After waiting for more than 2 hours, @AshutoshRanka and I just met J.P. Nadda ji at his residence for 10 minutes.While we submit a written letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally. We are in that process. There is news of mass… https://t.co/GMGBNG71h3— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) July 20, 2026

#UPDATE: After waiting for more than 2 hours, @AshutoshRanka and I just met J.P. Nadda ji at his residence for 10 minutes.While we submit a written letter with our demands, he has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally. We are in that process. There is news of mass… https://t.co/GMGBNG71h3

Several MPs joined the march as both houses of Parliament were adjourned until noon following opposition sloganeering around the protest. In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge raised the NEET paper leak issue and the ongoing protests, telling the House: “Thousands of students have gathered at Jantar Mantar for this cause. A lathi-charge has taken place there. The government is trying to use force, suppress voices, and drive them away.”

Several entry gates to Parliament were shut. Nearby, police personnel, including some in plainclothes, detained protesters and put them onto buses near the front line. Internet services were suspended in parts of central Delhi and traffic routes leading to it choked.

Protest handled professionally?

Many managed to breach the barricades.

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One detained protester told Newslaundry that the police had “resorted to lathi-charge” against “the country’s youth" and accused plainclothes personnel of mistreatment. Neha, one of three AISA students who had been on an indefinite hunger strike, rejected the framing of the incident as a “clash”, calling it instead a “lathi charge” and accusing the government of responding to youth protest “only ever” with violence.

#WATCH | Delhi | Protesters gathered for CJP's protest march clash with RPF personnel at Jantar Mantar; RPF personnel & police use lathis for crowd control pic.twitter.com/gijaCjJksW— ANI (@ANI) July 20, 2026

#WATCH | Delhi | Protesters gathered for CJP's protest march clash with RPF personnel at Jantar Mantar; RPF personnel & police use lathis for crowd control pic.twitter.com/gijaCjJksW

This is not a clash. This is a lathi charge.Whenever........

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