Live: CJP calls for nationwide protest on Friday; Delhi Police says no crackdown plan tonight
CJP calls Modi’s announcement 'merely an attempt to mislead people’, says students want accountability, responsibility and nothing short of Pradhan’s resignation
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) continued with its protest at Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET exam paper leak issue, for the 34th consecutive day on Thursday (July 23).
Breaking his silence on the issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the government has decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure action against those involved in exam paper leaks.
However, Modi’s bid to placate the protesting students did little, with the CJP calling it a distraction that fails to address the root cause of the NEET paper leak issue. The outfit said the government must take accountability, starting with the resignation of Pradhan.
Also read: Has CJP protest revealed a chink in BJP’s armour? | Talking Sense With Srini
In the evening, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said, “Modi ji, I once again request you to accept Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. Otherwise, the issue will not remain limited to Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation; it will come for your resignation also...An incompetent and failed minister cannot be more important than the crores of students in this country...”
During the day, CJP also turned down Union minister JP Nadda’s invitation for talks, insisting that it will only hold talks at a neutral venue.
Modi's big message
Early in the day, Modi said in a post on X that "Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth!" In reply, the CJP posted a meme showing a photo of Dharmendra Pradhan with the caption "My name is Nothing."
Modi in his post said, "We have decided to set up fast-track courts to ensure swift and stringent punishment for those involved in paper leaks. Have directed the concerned authorities and officials to take all necessary steps in this regard. This continues our series of steps for safeguarding the interests of students. Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared."
Also read: Fresh police crackdown on Jantar Mantar protesters; tear gas fired, internet cut off
INDIA bloc marches to Gandhi Smriti
Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday hit back at Union minister J P Nadda for his attack on Rahul Gandhi, saying the former BJP chief's press conference was an unending series of "what-aboutery" and a sure sign of the ruling regime's increasing desperation.
In the evening, Opposition INDIA bloc leaders and MPs marched to Gandhi Smriti to pay homage to the students who took their own lives out of despair because of the question paper leak.
Follow live updates of the CJP protest and related developments throughout the day, here.
Live Updates
- 23 July 2026 3:32 PM IST
Home Minister Amit Shah meets Speaker Om Birla
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against the backdrop of continuous opposition protests in Parliament over the NEET paper leak.
The government has accused the opposition of attaching the pre-condition of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation before agreeing to a debate.
Sources said Shah met Birla after the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day amid continuous ruckus.
Earlier, top opposition leaders including the Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav met Birla. TMC leaders Saugata Roy and Mahua Moitra were also present in the meeting.
During the Question Hour, Birla had asked opposition leaders to meet him to decide on the duration and date of the discussion on the NEET paper leak issue.
- 23 July 2026 2:59 PM IST
Kejriwal asks why Modi’s announcement didn’t address Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation demand
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on setting up fast-track courts for paper leak cases did not address the protesting students' primary demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
In a video message on X, Kejriwal said this is not what the students had demanded.
Referring to Modi's remarks made earlier in the day, the former Delhi chief minister said, "This morning, the prime minister announced that fast-track courts will be established for paper leak cases. What happened to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation?" The country already has fast-track courts for several matters, he said, and questioned their effectiveness.
Kejriwal said Modi also did not mention incidents of students being injured during the protest march on Monday in his message to the youth.
आज सुबह प्रधान मंत्री जी ने ऐलान किया है - पेपर लीक मामलों के लिए फ़ास्ट ट्रैक कोर्ट बनाये जाएँगे।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 23, 2026
धर्मेंद्र प्रधान के इस्तीफे का क्या हुआ?
प्रधान मंत्री का ये स्टेटमेंट एक हारे हुए दिशाहीन लेकिन अहंकारी व्यक्ति का लगता है। https://t.co/CyD86h4XDf pic.twitter.com/12IfNNiiBm - 23 July 2026 2:55 PM IST
PM takes credit for 'going to Mars', must now take responsibility for his actions: Priyanka
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday over students' protest, saying he takes credit for "going to Mars", so now it is time for him to take responsibility for his actions.
Speaking with reporters in Parliament House complex, she said the prime minister has posted on social media that he cares for children when just last night he got them "teargassed and beaten up".
"Have you ever seen in the history of our democracy that MPs from the ruling side are standing outside and protesting. Since how many sessions is this going on and they are not able to run this ( Parliament session). What is happening outside. He is weak and coward," she said, attacking the prime minister.
Asked about reports of internet being shut down in certain areas of central Delhi, Priyanka said, "Are we living in a democracy? Think about it, children are protesting...they have cut the internet, what are they doing? Students are not terrorists. Their parents would be worried, their families would be worried, they cannot contact anyone. They are putting teargas on them, they are beating them. What kind of democracy is this."
Questioning the media, she said has it asked how the prime minister is posting on social media that he cares for children when last night he has "teargassed the students and beat them up".
- 23 July 2026 2:52 PM IST
Cong, BJP supporters hurl stones, eggs at each other during Ranchi protest
Several people were injured on Thursday after Congress and BJP workers allegedly hurled stones and eggs at each other during a protest in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, police said.
Police personnel and journalists were also among the injured in the incident, they said.
Trouble started when a large number of Congress workers marched towards the BJP headquarters in Ranchi to protest against the NEET paper leak issue.
The Congress supporters raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Soon, BJP workers also took to the streets to counter the Congress supporters, police said.
A police officer said elaborate security arrangements were put in place, including barricades and deployment of a large number of personnel.
- 23 July 2026 2:50 PM IST
Seeing students being beaten brutally is extremely painful: Abhijeet Dipke’s mother
Anita Dipke, mother of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, has expressed concern over the lathi-charge on protesting students in New Delhi, saying it was extremely painful to watch them being beaten.
She appealed to the government to listen to the agitating students and release those detained at the earliest.
“I wish the government would listen to the agitating students and release them as soon as possible. I am worried after seeing the students beaten brutally. Watching all this has left me emotional. It is extremely painful to see students being beaten like animals,” Anita Dipke told Marathi news channel Zee 24 Taas in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Wednesday.
She said the students were beaten despite doing nothing and that she feared what might happen to them.
Visits by several leaders, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and activist Manoj Jarange, had offered some reassurance to the protesters, she said.
- 23 July 2026 2:47 PM IST
After backlash, Physics Wallah CEO backs CJP protest
Alakh Pandey, the co-founder and CEO of Physics Wallah has expressed support for the students protesting at Jantar Mantar while urging the government to initiate dialogue with them.
The CJP had earlier criticised Pandey for not supporting their cause.
"On July 20, the students of India held a historic protest. This was the anger of students against the entire education system. This isn't just about NEET," Pandey said in a video.
"Why doesn't the government talk to these children? These are our country's children. Please come and speak to them at least once. Listen to their problems. They have come onto the streets out of helplessness," he said.
- 23 July 2026 1:57 PM IST
Inspector injured in attack by protesters near Jantar Mantar: Delhi Police
The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed an inspector was injured after he was allegedly being attacked by a group of protesters near Jantar Mantar while on his way to duty.
Inspector Nand Kishor Singh said he had parked his vehicle near Hanuman Temple on Wednesday night and was walking towards his place of duty at Jantar Mantar when he came across a large gathering near the Parliament Street junction.
"There were around 4,000 to 5,000 people gathered there. They were raising anti-police slogans and anti-government slogans. I thought they were students and I was going to perform my duty," Singh told PTI.
According to Singh, around 100 to 150 people allegedly surrounded and attacked him as he tried to pass through the area.
"They assaulted me with lathis, sticks, stones and whatever sharp objects they had in their hands. I sustained injuries and somehow managed to escape. I was in uniform when they attacked me," he said.
The incident took place amid student protests in the Jantar Mantar area that witnessed clashes between demonstrators and police personnel.
The police alleged that several personnel were injured during the violence and said action has been initiated to identify and arrest those involved in the attacks and damage to public property.
- 23 July 2026 1:56 PM IST
Why CJI’s dismissal of Delhi protest crackdown plea exposes gaps in suo motu rules
While past instances show SC taking suo motu cognisance of similar cases, the lack of uniform rules often leaves it to the CJI’s discretion whether to act or look the other way. Read the full article here.
- 23 July 2026 1:51 PM IST
Anna Hazare undertakes 'maun andolan' to support protesting students
Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday observed a two-hour-long maun andolan (silent protest) at Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra to extend his support for protesting students in Delhi.
“Anna began his protest at 11 am and ended it at 1 pm,” the social activist’s aide Datta Awari told PTI.
Hazare, who held the protest at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Ahilyanagar, later left for his village Ralegan Siddhi, located in the same district.
Hazare wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday saying “the news of…violence and police action…is extremely painful”.
In a letter to Modi, Hazare said the resentment of the protesters must be viewed “not as a law and order problem, but as the agony and expectations of society”.
If Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is asked to resign, “it will not cause the government to fall; rather, it will…make its functioning more accountable and effective”, Hazare wrote.
He requested the government to “listen to (the protesters) patiently, create an atmosphere of trust, and find solutions through positive dialogue”.
- 23 July 2026 1:22 PM IST
Hollywood actor John Cusack backs NEET protests, says 'beautiful news'
The ongoing student protests over the NEET paper leak found support from Hollywood actor John Cusack, who shared on X an article by activist-author Arundhati Roy that criticised the authorities for using excessive force against the young protesters during their march towards Parliament on Monday (July 20).
"Beautiful news from my favorite fellow cockroach," the 60-year-old star, who has time and again spoken about pertinent issues related to India, posted on the social media platform.
Beautiful news from my favorite fellow cockroach ⬇️
— John Cusack (@johncusack) July 23, 2026
Cockroach Democracy: Unarmed and Dangerous - The Wire https://t.co/ZbYFfu0HZICusack, who featured in blockbusters such as "Serendipity", "High Fidelity", "Con Air" and "2012", had also supported students during their protest against the amended Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019.
