India youth group says will not march again because police will 'hurt youth'

India's youth-led "cockroach" movement said on
Tuesday it would continue its protest but will not march again, a day after
scores of supporters were injured in clashes with police who tried to stop
their march on parliament.
Delhi Police said nearly 180
people, including 118 security and police personnel, and 60 protesters, were
injured on Monday when they clashed in central Delhi.
Thousands of protesters from Delhi
and nearby cities and towns gathered to march on parliament on Monday, joining
a movement that began as an online satire but has become the biggest challenge
for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term.
The months-old movement by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has drawn
the support of millions of young Gen Z Indians who are demanding the
resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper
leaks that affected more than 2 million students in May.
Seventy protesters had been
detained and legal action would be initiated against them, police said in a
statement late on Monday.
Early on Tuesday, about 150-200
protesters gathered at the protest site of Jantar Mantar in central Delhi,
chanting slogans amid a mild drizzle. Security remained tight with paramilitary
personnel patrolling parts of central Delhi and barricades slowing traffic.
"We had to call off the
protest yesterday because we did not want more youth to be injured," CJP
founder Abhijeet Dipke told a press conference.
"We will not march again because the police will hurt the youth
again," he said, adding that more than 150 protesters were undergoing
treatment in hospital.
Reuters could not independently
verify that number.
















