NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) march towards Parliament on Monday, demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET exam paper leak, descended into chaos as thousands of protesters clashed with police.More than 170 people, including police personnel and protesters, were injured in the clashes. Seventy people were detained, and police said an FIR was being registered on charges of rioting, assault on public servants, and damage to public property.Police said that at around 10.30 am, protesters gathered at Jantar Mantar attempted to breach welded barricades, forcing officers to resort to a lathicharge. Police alleged that some protesters also pelted stones, injuring several personnel.A mini-truck fitted with eight loudspeakers then entered the protest site.CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and other protesters climbed onto the vehicle and began moving towards another barricaded stretch. Police intercepted the truck, after which Dipke asked the protesters to sit at the spot and announced that the government was ready to hold talks.SANSAD CHALO: HOW IT UNFOLDED6 am: Supporters begin pouring into Jantar Mantar; protest site fills up hours before the scheduled march9 am: March scheduled to begin, but delayed as organisers wait for Sonam Wangchuk, who seeks discharge from Safdarjung Hospital to join9 am-noon: CJP representatives, Opposition politicians address gathering at Jantar MantarNoon onwards: Wangchuk’s wife announces Opposition MPs have assured the delegation that the demands will be raised in Parliament. Dipke and three AISA activists end their indefinite hunger strike after the assurance1 pm onwards: CJP members board a truck and the Sansad Chalo march begins. The procession reaches near Kerala House, about 500 metres from Jantar Mantar, where heavy police barricading, RAF contingents, Delhi Police deployment, seven-foot metal barricades, water cannons and anti-riot vehicles halt the march. Protesters breach barricades at multiple points— including Bank of Baroda and LIC building (CP), Rail Bhavan, Akashvani, Shram Shakti Bhavan, Transport Bhavan and Air Force Bhavan—while police use lathi-charge, teargas and loudspeaker warnings to disperse the crowdAround 3.30 pm: A CJP delegation meets Union minister JP Nadda and submits a memorandum of three key demandsAround 4 pm: Police climb onto the truck after smashing a window pane; several protesters detainedTill evening: Repeated lathi-charge and tear-gas shells are used as protesters try to continue their march towards Parliament. They allege they were beaten up by police, while cops say two of their personnel were injured in stone-pelting. Parliament gates closed, Section 163 of BNSS in force across Lutyens’ Delhi, mobile internet services suspended, gates at Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat and Seva Teerth metro stations lockedAround 6.30 pm: Dipke, Wangchuk’s wife and other CJP representatives remain atop the stranded truck, announcing that the protest will continue till minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns
