Delhi's streets turned tense as the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) Parliament march escalated into a full blown standoff with police, even as a party delegation walked into Union Health Minister JP Nadda's residence to open a channel of talks. The two threads, street confrontation and ministerial dialogue, played out side by side through the day.
Three demands placed before the minister
CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das represented the party at Nadda's residence and laid out three specific demands. First, the immediate release of social activist Sonam Wangchuk. Second, the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak controversy. Third, and most emotionally charged, compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of NEET aspirants who allegedly died by suicide. Rather than responding on the spot, Nadda asked for time to consult the party's top leadership on these demands.
Letter handed over, meeting photos go viral
During the meeting, CJP leaders formally submitted a letter to the Union minister spelling out their demands. Photographs of the interaction quickly spread across social media, showing delegation members handing over the letter and sitting down with the minister to discuss the issues.
Rumours of Abhijeet Deepake's detention, police issue clarification
Alongside this, a claim began circulating rapidly on social media that Abhijeet Deepake had been taken into custody. Delhi Police officially rejected the claim, stating it was entirely false and misleading. According to the police, Deepake is completely safe and is present on the stage at the protest site.
Stone pelting leaves several personnel seriously injured
Images from the ground show just how severe the stone pelting during the protest turned out to be. The clash between demonstrators and police left several personnel with serious injuries, visuals show one officer with a head wound and another with a deep gash on the nose, both bandaged.
Fierce clash near Parliament Street
Things worsened further near Parliament Street, where protesters and police forces clashed head on. A sub-inspector was among several police personnel injured in the confrontation. The injured sub-inspector said, "We were stationed at the barricades when a heavy volley of stones suddenly came at us."
Force on one side, backchannel talks on the other
While Delhi Police pushed to clear demonstrators from the stretch between Jantar Mantar and Sansad Marg, quiet efforts to defuse the standoff were already underway. Sources indicate JP Nadda met the CJP delegation specifically to break this deadlock, with the government now looking to resolve the dispute through dialogue rather than confrontation.
