AISA and AIDSO condemn police lathi charge of students in New Delhi

Members of the All India Students Association staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Monday. | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

Around 1,500 people in solidarity with the ‘Chalo Sansad or Parliamentary March’ in Delhi took part in a protest organized by the All India Students Association (AISA) Karnataka at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Monday.

The protesters strongly condemned the “brutal attack on peaceful protesters by the Delhi Police and the illegal abduction of Sonam Wangchuk”. They also highlighted that many students and youths were seriously injured due to police repression.

“The NEET-2026 paper leak is the latest in a series of exam scandals that have exposed the utter failure of our examination system to conduct fair, transparent and credible exams. There have been hundreds of paper leaks and irregularities in various exams in the last few years. Thousands of students have been repeatedly made to bear the consequences of institutional incompetence, corruption and administrative failure,” they said.

“The violent removal of Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar by the police exposes the government’s deeply authoritarian response to peaceful democratic dissent. Gandhi’s peaceful protest was met not with dialogue but with repression. Such actions raise serious concerns about the shrinking of the democratic space available to citizens seeking justice through non-violent means,” they added.

Students also staged a protest at Bangalore University led by the All India Democratic Students Organization (AIDSO) where they condemned the police for resorting to lathi charge and using tear gas against the students.

AIDSO state treasurer Subhash BJ said in protest, “Though the march of students and youth to Parliament in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, was announced well in advance, permission was denied by the police. Protest is a fundamental right in a democratic society.”

Published – 20 Jul 2026 20:14 IST