NEW DELHI: Walking down Raisina Road towards Janpath, the first sounds of celebration began to drift across the otherwise quiet, leafy avenues of Lutyens’ Delhi.News had just broken that education minister Dharmendra Pradhan had resigned – the principal demand of CJP’s youth-led protest that had occupied Jantar Mantar for weeks.But at the protest site itself, the news did not arrive through phone screens. With internet services blocked around Jantar Mantar, most demonstrators had no idea that Pradhan had announced his resignation on social media around 2.18pm. Instead, it came the old-fashioned, unGenZ way – over a loudspeaker.Standing atop a police vehicle outside the NDMC building, a CJP spokesperson suddenly announced, “Sathiyo, Pradhan ne istifa de diya hai…
CJP Jantar Mantar Protest Updates
aapki mehnat rang layi.”Standing atop a police vehicle, a CJP spokesperson announced, “Sathiyo, Pradhan ne istifa de diya hai… aapki mehnat rang layi.”For a few moments, the crowd seemed stunned, almost unwilling to believe what it had just heard. Then the Sansad Marg intersection exploded into celebration. Protesters vaulted over barricades from every direction, converging at the centre of the crossing. There were hugs, cheers and chants. Some danced with T-shirts twirling above their heads, others tossed bottles of water into the air, creating an impromptu shower over the jubilant crowd. Many wiped away tears as they congratulated one another.However, many at the main protest site remained unaware. Seated on the stage where he had addressed supporters for weeks, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke suddenly leaned into the microphone and declared, “We have done it. Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned.”As the words slowly spread by word of mouth — “Pradhan”, “resignation” — the significance sank in. Dipke and volunteers held up a poster carrying photographs of students who had died by suicide following the NEET paper leak, reading out each name over the loudspeaker, telling the crowd justice had finally been served to them.On stage, proclamations of victory continued. Some of the protesters, though, were unwilling to declare a victory. One young protester shouted, “Andolan abhi jari hai, ab Gadkari ki bari hai.”“Aisa lag raha ki azaadi ki ladayi leet li — feels like we won the freedom struggle,” said 23-year-old Deepak Singh.
