NEW DELHI (AP) — Supporters of India’s youth-led Cockroach movement demanding educational reforms and government accountability refused to leave their New Delhi protest site Tuesday, a day after their thousands-strong march toward Parliament drew police tear gas, beatings and a new wave of sympathy from across the country.The movement, now attracting professionals and families beyond students, represents a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and use of force to respond to protests.Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and dozens of his Congress party lawmakers showed their support Tuesday with a sit-in outside Modi’s residence before police forcibly removed them in a dramatic escalation.
Footage showed Gandhi, who had urged “every patriotic Indian who believes that our students should get justice” to join, resisting. Government minister Jitendra Singh said Gandhi was told the location was not “suitable for a sit-in.”
India’s opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi drinks water as he participates in a sit-in protest with his sister and lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, center right, outside the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
