NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday criticised the Centre over the police action against protesting students, accusing the government of refusing to discuss concerns surrounding the education policy while resorting to force.“We are all asking for a discussion. There are problems and major issues with the education policy. Yet, you are unwilling to discuss it; instead, you are using tear gas on the students and beating them up. For what? They are our children,” Priyanka Gandhi said. Thousands of students and protesters flooded central Delhi on Monday as demonstrations over examination paper leaks intensified and gained fresh momentum from climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s ongoing hunger strike. Police responded with tear gas and lathi-charges as the protests escalated.The protests brought large parts of the capital to a standstill, while Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, according to the organisation’s spokesperson.Clashes erupted as protesters, including some in school uniforms, poured into central Delhi, weaving through narrow lanes and attempting to reach as close to Parliament as possible despite heavy security. Several protesters and police personnel were injured during the confrontations.Defying multiple layers of barricades, many demonstrators walked several kilometres, regrouped at different locations, chanted slogans and repeatedly looked for openings to push past police barricades.Meanwhile, a few kilometres away at Safdarjung Hospital, activist Sonam Wangchuk requested the medical superintendent to allow him to leave “even if temporarily” to join the CJP’s march to Parliament. In his request, Wangchuk said he was feeling “very fine” and that his health parameters were normal.CJP said the government had reached out for talks and that two of its spokespersons would meet Union Minister J P Nadda to present the group’s demands.
