Protesters Breach Delhi Barricades to Demand Dharmendra Pradhan Resignation
On Monday, July 20, 2026, thousands of student and youth protesters bypassed multiple police barricades and marched from Jantar Mantar down Raisina Marg to the doorstep of the Parliament complex in Delhi. Mobilized by the youth group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the demonstrators demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the recent NEET(UG) examination paper leak.
Security forces, including Delhi Police personnel, were outnumbered and caught off guard as the crowd breached multiple layers of barricades. Despite an internet shutdown in the area and the deployment of around 3,000 security personnel, protesters managed to reach within 100 meters of the Parliament complex on the first day of the Parliament's Monsoon session.
To halt the march, police used buses to block the road. When protesters continued to press forward, police personnel fired tear gas shells as warning shots and baton-charged the crowd, resulting in injuries to several protesters and police officers.
The protest was reportedly bolstered by solidarity following the forcible removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar on July 18, where he had been on a hunger strike for 20 days. According to officials, a large number of protesters were also mobilized by political parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and the Azaad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), with many traveling from outside Delhi, particularly from the Shekhawati region in Rajasthan and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.
As the demonstration escalated, the Union government reached out to the CJP. Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda met with a delegation of the protesters starting at 11:50 a.m. The delegation submitted a written petition to Nadda around 4:00 p.m., after which the Minister requested the demonstrators to end their sit-in and assist in restoring normalcy.
Inside Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a three-and-a-half-hour meeting with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss the NEET paper leak and the ongoing protests.
