Thousands of people continued to turn up at the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on Friday, even as the restrictions around the authorities closed the entry and exit gates at 18 metro stations, two more than were closed the previous day. Internet services remained suspended at Jantar Mantar, Sansad Marg and parts of central Delhi for the third consecutive day.

The protest’s momentum appeared undimmed despite the restrictions. Following their meeting with Union Ministers, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said they would call for a nationwide stir on the lines of the July 20 ‘Chalo Sansad’ march if the government does not agree to their demand to oust Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan within the next two days.

‘Here for my son’

At Sansad Marg, 25-year-old Afroza from Mehrauli was dressed in shades of the tricolour and handing out water bottles. “My son wanted to join, but I told him I would go on his behalf. I didn’t know about this protest until July 18, when a relative called me and asked if I had visited the site,” she said.

For the past two days, Ms. Afroza, who has never been to school, has been finishing her chores by 11 a.m. and heading to Jantar Mantar. This is what she plans to do on Saturday as well. She had brought along four packs of water bottles to distribute. “When I came here yesterday, I saw people buying water bottles. No one at such a place should be charged for water. So, my husband and I bought these,” she said.

Many volunteers were tasked with maintaining peace and order amid the large turnout, with several deployed at the entry and exit gates to prevent overcrowding at the main protest site. Arun Singh from Uttar Pradesh has been volunteering at the food counter since he arrived at the protest site on July 19.

Protesters continue to occupy a stretch of Sansad Marg from Connaught Place to Tolstoy Marg while the remaining stretch is held by security forces, with heavy deployment of personnel and riot-control vehicles. CJP volunteers have formed a human chain separating the protesters from the police.

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) demanded that the Prime Minister make Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resign, withdraw all the cases foisted by the police against the youth and students protesting in New Delhi and tender an unconditional apology on the excesses committed against the protesters seeking action in the NEET question paper leakage issue.

Speaking at a protest organised by the BRS student wing, BRS Vidyarthi, at Indira Park here on Friday to express solidarity with students protesting in Delhi on the NEET question paper leakage issue, working president of BRS K.T. Rama Rao said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was playing with fire by trying to suppress the voice of Gen Z. He condemned the attempts to brand the protesters as terrorists, anti-nationals and anti-social elements.

Had the Centre been sincere, it would have already held dialogue with the protesters several times to resolve the issue instead of resorting to oppression and intimidation. There was no leader or the party behind the protesting youth and students, the BRS leader said, adding that voluntary support in the form of various means was an indication of the growing unrest among the youth against the Union Government.

Stating that the country was witnessing a dangerous trend in which those demanding accountability were being targeted instead of those responsible for the failures, Mr. Rama Rao said the voice of India’s youth could not be silenced through force or intimidation and asserted that every attempt to suppress democratic dissent would only strengthen such a movement.

Turning to the State government, he said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was helping divert public attention from the Centre’s failures and alleged that instead of leading a united fight against the Centre on an issue affecting students across the country, Mr. Reddy had chosen to target the BRS for political gains.

He accused Mr. Revanth Reddy of displaying double standards by avoiding any confrontation with the BJP while attempting to divert attention through attacks on the opposition.