India‘s riot police baton-charged protesters in New Delhi as they tried to march to parliament on Monday, escalating a protest over irregularities in major examinations.

Protesters ran for cover as police in blue riot gear charged at them near the Jantar Mantar protest site, an AFP journalist saw.

Thousands of protesters started gathering from early Monday, defying a steady monsoon drizzle and police barricades put up on routes leading to the site.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.

“We want the government to hear us, not silence us,” said student K.M. Gulshan, 19.

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Two members ​of the movement are on ​their ‌way ⁠to meet ‌a senior minister in Prime ⁠Minister Narendra Modi‘s cabinet, chief ​party spokesperson Saurav ‌Das said in a post ‌on X on ​Monday.

“The government had reached out for talks ​in the ​morning. Our demands ​are clear. The ​youth has gathered in huge numbers,” he said.

The protest comes after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk was taken to hospital on Saturday, bringing an abrupt end to his 20-day hunger strike in support of young people and the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement.

The party emerged in May after the Supreme Court chief justice compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing. 

The CJP has since won millions of followers on social media, tapping into widespread anger over the education system and unemployment.

The movement is seen as one of the biggest challenges to Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won his third term in office in 2024.

“PM @narendramodi tell your police to stand down,” the CJP said in a post on X on Monday.

“We are a democracy in case you have forgotten. The whole world is watching as you’re trying to crush a democratic and peaceful protest.”

Watch India’s Cockroach Party founder speaks to FRANCE 24

‘Suppress voices’

Despite rapid economic growth, millions of people in the world’s most populous nation still struggle to find stable and well-paying jobs, fuelling discontent.

Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following a question paper leak that triggered widespread outrage.

That came on top of another scandal related to the online marking system of tests taken by nearly two million high school students.

The Internet was snapped in parts of central New Delhi on Monday, with police saying the protesters did not have their permission to hold the protest.

“Any person violating these prohibitory orders shall be liable for prosecution,” Delhi Police said in a statement.

Shubhi Rao, 16, said she had joined the protest to support Wangchuk and demand accountability from the government.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown himself as someone who isn’t bothered about the youth of this country,” she told AFP.

Modi, in a public address before the start of the monsoon session of parliament, did not mention the protesters.

But Mallikarjun Kharge, a senior leader of the opposition Congress party, brought up the issue in the upper house.

“Thousands of students have gathered at Jantar Mantar. The government is trying to use force, suppress voices, and drive them away,” he said.

Slogans were also shouted inside the lower house by the opposition benches, demanding the resignation of the education minister and justice for students.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)