India youth group says will not march again because police will 'hurt youth'

India's youth-led "cockroach" movement said on Tuesday it would continue its protest but will not march again, a day after scores of supporters were injured in clashes with police who tried to stop their march to parliament.

Delhi Police said nearly 180 people, including 118 security and police personnel, and 60 protesters, were injured on Monday when they clashed in central Delhi.

Thousands of protesters from Delhi and nearby cities and towns gathered to march on parliament on Monday, joining a movement that began as an online satire but has turned out to become the biggest challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term.

The months-old movement by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has drawn the support of millions of young, Gen Z Indians who are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination paper leaks that affected more than 2 million students in May.

Seventy protesters had been detained and legal action would be initiated against them, police said in a statement late on Monday.

Early on Tuesday, about 150-200 protesters gathered at the protest site of Jantar Mantar in central Delhi, chanting slogans amid a mild drizzle. Security remained tight with paramilitary personnel patrolling parts of central Delhi and barricades slowing traffic.

"We had to call off the protest yesterday because we did not want more youth to be injured," CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke told a press conference.

"We will not march again because the police will hurt the youth again," he said, adding that more than 150 protesters were undergoing treatment in hospital.

Reuters could not independently verify that number.

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"They beat us black and blue and they damaged our protest site,” Sahil Singh, a protester from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh told Reuters. “We want accountability to be set with Pradhan's resignation."

On Monday, Health Minister JP Nadda met two CJP leaders and sought time to discuss their demands within the government.

The demands include the release of Wangchuk, Pradhan's resignation and compensation of 10 million rupees ($104,000) for each student ​who died following the leak. About a dozen students took their own lives after the exam paper leak, local media reported.

The CJP’s surge ‌in popularity reflects ⁠frustrations among young Indians including job shortages as well as exam leaks, which they say happen frequently.

Dipke and his supporters began a sit-in last month seeking Pradhan's resignation. Some leaders from the opposition and social media influencers also joined the protest on Monday.

Opposition parties criticised the government for using force against young protesters. Leaders of Modi’s party said the violence seemed orchestrated.

Analysts said even if the talks succeed in calming the protests, the underlying discontent among dissatisfied youngsters has the potential to present the most formidable challenge to Modi’s government going forward.

“This is an issue which affects everyone … any crackdown against the overwhelmingly peaceful protesters, as the government is wont to do, will only serve to fuel anger,” said Pearl Pandya, senior analyst for Asia Pacific at conflict monitoring research group ACLED.