Cockroach Janta Party To March On Delhi Police HQ
CJP announces September 5 protest from India Gate, alleging the Centre has not honoured commitments made to Gen Z on July 25
Synopsis
The Cockroach Janta Party has announced a protest march from India Gate to New Delhi Police Headquarters on September 5 to protest against police brutality, led by the family of deceased victims of the NEETs. The Centre has not fulfilled its pledge on July 25 to drop the FIR against the protesters, leading to the renewed mobilisation after the 37-day sit-in held at Jantar Mantar ended in good faith, the group has said.
Renewed Mobilisation After a Pause
A youth group that emerged from protests demanding fair practices in examinations has called for another protest in the national capital, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
The protest march was announced by the Cockroach Janta Party in New Delhi on September 5, alleging that the government has not followed through on its promises on July 25 to withdraw the FIRs and pay compensation to the NEET victims. The CJP's national working committee meeting on August 24 led to the decision.
The route has been clarified. The Cockroach Janta Party Monday said it would start a march on September 5 from India Gate to the Delhi Police headquarters in Jai Singh Marg, Connaught Place.
Who Will Lead the March
The organisers have focused the protest on the people who are most impacted by the controversy at the heart of the issue. The march is supposed to start from India Gate and march towards New Delhi Police HQ with all the students, youth organisations and student bodies invited to participate and will be led by the families of deceased NEET victims and victims of police brutality allegedly happened on the 'Sansad Chalo' march on July 20.
How did the grievance occur?
The CJP sees the new protest as a reaction to a “faith violation” and not a new demand. The party had called off a 37-day sit-in at Jantar Mantar on July 25, when the government pledged to withdraw FIRs against protesters and not to initiate further punitive measures, and also consider the party's five-point examination reform charter.
But it has since come to a standstill in the maintenance of those assurances. CJP pointed out that it was particularly disheartening when the FIRs are withdrawn without a written statement.
The organisation also has referred to judicial observations in its grievance. The issue started to heat up after the Supreme Court, in its hearing on August 18, found that the Central government had not given the parties "defining clarity" about its commitments.
A Sharper Tone
Since the end of the pause, CJP's public statements have become more cutting edge. “A government cannot take the trust of a generation and dole it out to send young people home, and then remove itself from its own promises,” the party said.
It has separately warned government officials not to rest on their laurels and not to underestimate the level of restraint exhibited so far. CJP demanded that the government should keep its promises on withdrawn FIRs and other assurances and stated that withdrawing an FIR should not be considered as a sign of weakness and should not be a plea to the relatives of the accused.
What Comes Next
Whether Delhi Police allows the march or not is still to be known and any big crowd in the vicinity of any security sensitive place like police headquarters is likely to lead to restrictions on the route. The Centre has not yet made a formal public response to CJP's charge of delay.