Thousands gather at Jantar Mantar as opposition leaders protest against alleged NEET irregularities, calling for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
New Delhi, India Jul 22, 2026 ALN: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday reported that thousands of protesters had gathered at Jantar Mantar. CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka warned that "millions more" would join if the government failed to meet their demands, including the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET irregularities.
Heavy security and barricading remain in place around Parliament House, Rafi Marg, and other parts of Delhi. Police have registered six FIRs in connection with the violence and vandalism during Monday's protest march and are probing an alleged larger criminal conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Congress units staged protests across several states against the police lathi-charge on students and the detention of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and other opposition leaders. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav was also detained during a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence.
Separately, activist Sonam Wangchuk, who remains on an indefinite fast, was shifted to Medanta Hospital following Delhi High Court orders. Union ministers Jitendra Singh and J P Nadda visited the hospital to inquire about his health.
DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday backed the student protests over alleged NEET irregularities, calling for the examination to be scrapped.
“The students' protest in New Delhi has now captured the attention of the entire country. We were the first to warn that NEET was designed to enable large-scale irregularities. That is why the DMK has opposed NEET from the very beginning, consistently pointing out the dangers it poses,” Stalin said in a post on X.
“Tamil Nadu, which led India in defending social justice and paved the way for the First Constitutional Amendment, has only one demand: Abolition of NEET. More than any other demand, the abolition of NEET must be at the heart of these protests,” he added, stating that scrapping the exam was the only “lasting solution to all these problems.”
Sloganeering continued at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Wednesday despite persistent rain, as protesters remained gathered to press their demands.
BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad labeled Rahul Gandhi's protest outside the Prime Minister's residence as “irresponsible.”
“He is sitting on a dharna at the gate of the Prime Minister's residence. His father (Rajiv Gandhi) was the Prime Minister, his grandmother Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and his great-grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was also the Prime Minister of India. He, of all people, should know the dignity and sanctity of the Prime Minister's residence. Despite this, the kind of irresponsible behaviour he has displayed is highly condemnable,” Prasad stated, according to ANI news agency.
TMC chairperson and former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday condemned police actions against student protesters during the CJP protest march on Monday.
“The police atrocities on our youth in Delhi are unacceptable. Shame on the Union government. The All India Trinamool Congress fully supports the sit-down protest by the Opposition today near Akbar Road. Our full solidarity,” Banerjee said in a post.
The Centre has ordered the deployment of 20 additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Delhi to bolster security, officials said on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the deployment order on Tuesday night, following which the CRPF personnel began being airlifted from Kolkata to the national capital.
A total of 20 CRPF companies are being airlifted from Kolkata to be deployed in Delhi to strengthen law and order in view of the CJP protests, demonstrations by various political parties, and the ongoing Parliament session, official sources in the security establishment told PTI.
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CJP spokesperson Saurav Das early on Wednesday reported that his WhatsApp account was blocked. “MY WHATSAPP ACCOUNT HAS BEEN BLOCKED! Can tell me why and on whose direction it did so?!” Das said in a post on X.
Following this, the CJP questioned: “Is blocking Cockroach Janta Party-related WhatsApp accounts?”
CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Wednesday claimed the protest at Jantar Mantar was “the biggest movement in India's post-independence history.”
He stated that the protest march on July 20 “was a trailer,” adding that “millions more will come to Delhi” if the government does not agree to the students' demands.
"The government really needs to get its act together otherwise the youth of this country is going to take them down very badly,” Ranka told ANI news agency.
An FIR has been registered after a video showed a Rapid Action Force (RAF) jawan being chased and assaulted allegedly by a group of protesters during the CJP’s march, police said on Wednesday. The video showed the RAF jawan being surrounded, chased, and thrashed by several protesters during the CJP’s march towards Parliament on Monday. Police said the FIR had been registered in connection with the incident and an investigation has been launched to identify those involved, PTI news agency reported.
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The opposition MPs will hold a protest outside Makar Dwar of Parliament on Wednesday, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This comes after the Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders held a protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence on Tuesday.
Today’s protests have been scheduled for around 10:30 am, during which opposition leaders will also raise concerns over the irregularities in the NEET UG examination. The Opposition will also hold a protest against the police action taken on July 20 on students.
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