Delhi student protests continue after Modi promises exam leak justice
8 reported
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke weeks of silence on Thursday by promising swift justice over repeated exam paper leaks, but thousands of students remained camped in central Delhi late Thursday night, joined by opposition party leaders and activists from the Cockroach Janta Party. The CJP, which began in May as online satire, took its name from a jibe by India’s chief justice comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches” and the name of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The protests were sparked after 2 million students who sat for India’s competitive medical entrance exam saw their results scrapped due to leaked questions, a debacle linked to roughly a dozen student suicides. The CJP is calling for nationwide protests Friday and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Modi warned on social platform X that “those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” but made no mention of Pradhan. Police charged and tear-gassed thousands of protesters marching toward Parliament three days earlier, injuring more than 100 people and detaining dozens. Authorities cut mobile internet access around the protest site Wednesday with no public suspension order issued, in apparent violation of Indian law, according to the Internet Freedom Foundation.
What’s reported
Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke weeks of silence on Thursday, promising swift justice for exam paper leaks.
Thousands of students remained camped in central Delhi late Thursday night, joined by opposition party leaders and Cockroach Janta Party activists.
The CJP began in May as online satire, named after a chief justice’s “cockroaches” comment and the BJP.
2 million students had their medical entrance exam results scrapped after questions were leaked, linked to roughly a dozen student suicides.
The CJP is calling for nationwide protests Friday and demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Modi warned on X that “those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” but did not mention Pradhan.
Three days earlier, police charged and tear-gassed thousands of protesters marching toward Parliament, injuring more than 100 and detaining dozens.
Authorities cut mobile internet access around the protest site Wednesday with no public suspension order issued, in apparent violation of Indian law, per the Internet Freedom Foundation.
Key figures
Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister
Dharmendra Pradhan, Education Minister
Ankit Sarthi, civil service exam candidate
Tanisha Bose, Delhi University graduate student
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), protest group
Internet Freedom Foundation, advocacy group
Sources: csmonitor.com
