New Delhi [India], July 21 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday slammed the government over the police action during the protest march on Monday in Delhi, alleging that youth protesters were subjected to a 'brutal lathi charge', and said that in a democracy, 'dialogue works, not the rule of the baton'.

Singh was speaking as AAP MPs staged a protest against the alleged NEET paper leak outside Makar Dwar in Parliament, where protesters raised slogans demanding a discussion on the issue and answers from the government over the police action against youth protesters.

'What kind of behaviour is this? Sometimes you drive away the media, sometimes the people. This is not the Bharatiya Janata Party's house! Parliament has not been allotted in their name,' Singh told reporters.

'Yesterday, such a brutal lathi charge took place; you saw how the youth were beaten with batons... should we not chant slogans? Without wearing a badge, without a police nameplate, who were these people who beat our youth?' he alleged.

Singh further alleged that protesters were injured during the action and said, 'Someone's head was cracked, someone's clothes were torn. They had even put nails in their batons. They've made a mockery of everything.'

Referring to climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital after a prolonged hunger strike, Singh questioned the government's response to his demands.

'A man has been on a hunger strike for 22, 23 days and you won't talk to him? Are you so arrogant?' Singh said.

He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, 'You are travelling around the world eating 'Melody' chocolates, touring Australia and New Zealand? This is not right.'

Asked how Parliament would function on Tuesday, Singh said the Opposition was protesting against what he described as the government's 'brutal, dictatorial action' against youth.

'We are chanting here against the brutal, dictatorial action that Modi ji took against the youth yesterday; we have registered our protest,' he said.

Singh compared Monday's violence during the protest march to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

'The action that took place yesterday reminds one of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Youth's blood was shed on the streets of Delhi; they were beaten and thrashed. In a democracy, it is dialogue that works, not the rule of the baton,' he said.

Responding to Prime Minister Modi's message to the youth and his assurance that those involved in the NEET paper leak would face strict action, Singh questioned the government's action in the 2024 NEET case.

'No, as for NEET... the paper leak that happened in NEET '24, Modi let those people go, didn't he? Modi let all the accused go. His CBI didn't file a chargesheet. Did Modi take any action on that?' he said.

During the protest outside Makar Dwar, AAP MPs and other leaders raised slogans including 'Discuss the paper leak', 'Prime Minister, give an answer', and 'Give an answer for the lathi charge'.

The protest came amid intensified agitation by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and demands for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Meanwhile, the CJP's protest march towards Parliament on Monday turned violent, with Delhi Police claiming that more than 118 police personnel were injured in clashes. Around 60 protesters were also reported to have sustained injuries.

According to police, protesters allegedly attacked personnel with stones and other objects, attempted to breach barricades, vandalised police and government vehicles and damaged public property. The Delhi Police has registered FIRs against unidentified persons in connection with alleged stone-pelting and vandalism in Connaught Place and Parliament Street.

CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke, meanwhile, accused the Delhi Police of 'brutality and cruelty' during the protest and alleged that police personnel assaulted student protesters. The police have maintained that protesters engaged in violence and attempted to breach barricades.

The CJP delegation had also met Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday and pressed demands including the resignation of Pradhan, compensation of Rs 1 crore to the families of NEET aspirants who lost their lives and the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk.

Nadda has said that the government had kept its doors open for dialogue and appealed to protesters to end their sit-in and assist the administration in restoring normalcy. (ANI)