Patna: What began as a protest demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday ended nearly three hours later in disbelief and unbridled joy, as news of him submitting his resignation reached students gathered at Dak Bungalow crossing.Despite heavy police deployment, barricades and firing of tear gas shells, the students kept returning to the protest site after being denied permission to sit in. By 2.30pm, the slogan “Isteefa do, Dharmendra Pradhan, isteefa do” had given way to chants of “Dharmendra Pradhan ne isteefa de diya.”With several organisers earlier, the youth took to the roads around 11am, spilling across pockets of Dak Bungalow, Patna Junction, Exhibition Road, Jamal Road and Gandhi Maidan. Led by student organisations AISA and RYA, the protest soon turned into a cat-and-mouse chase.
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The moment police cleared one cluster at Dak Bungalow, another would pop up from a side lane.At one point, even the police seemed to lose track of the chaos, with a policeman asking another, “Mere lathi chori ho gaye?”The police, however, viewed the gathering differently. “We have been sitting here since morning, waiting for them (protestors) to come, but nobody came. The causes and demands may be genuine, but most of the protesters here have nothing to do with education. Only around 25% of them are genuine,” a police officer said when asked how Saturday’s protest was different from previous demonstrations.The mood among the protesters was summed up by a Class X student from Begusarai who had travelled alone to Patna without informing his parents. “I wanted to go to Jantar Mantar to join the protest demanding his resignation, but I could not. So I came here alone. If the police catch me, I will tell them I am an influencer,” he said.A senior citizen, Muzaffar Alam, stood amid the sea of young protesters seeking accountability not just for students but also for women, minorities and farmers. “My grandchild is still very young, so I have come here on his behalf. I want a better future for him. I have also come to speak against the lathicharge and the way protesters were treated. The youth should not have been beaten,” he said.Even as the protest was still unfolding, police action continued on the ground. Several youths had already been detained earlier in the day, and tear gas was used around Exhibition Road as groups tried to regroup and move back towards Dak Bungalow. After the resignation news reached the protesters and the mood turned celebratory.City SP Shailja said police had no intention of stopping peaceful protests but could not allow protesters to block Dak Bungalow crossing and disrupt traffic and emergency services. Protesters were free to sit at Gandhi Maidan, she said.A visibly emotional student, Pallavi, said the resignation was “a moment of hope” but not the end. “I am happy because today our voices were heard, but this is only the beginning. We still want reforms in education and justice for those who faced police brutality. The lathi-charges will not scare the youth away any more,” she said.
