Banerjee made the allegation on Tuesday while condemning the police action against supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, during its “Sansad Chalo” mobilisation in New Delhi a day earlier. She did not present evidence supporting her account of the prime minister’s movements, and there was no immediate confirmation from his office.
“You saw what happened in Delhi yesterday; an atrocity was committed against students,” Banerjee told reporters. “I heard from Parliament that the Prime Minister turned his car around and drove away.”
The Trinamool Congress leader also said she was prepared to join the agitation if required, adding another prominent opposition voice to a youth-led campaign that has widened into a challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
The CJP march on Monday drew tens of thousands of people, many of them students and young jobseekers. Police used tear gas and batons after sections of the crowd attempted to move towards Parliament despite restrictions on gatherings in parts of central Delhi.
Nearly 180 people were reported injured during the confrontation, including demonstrators and police personnel. Images showing officers striking protesters and people attempting to escape tear gas circulated widely online, prompting accusations of excessive force from opposition parties and civil rights groups.
The movement has demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated examination paper leaks, alleged irregularities in recruitment tests and broader failures in the education system. Organisers have also sought an independent investigation into examination scandals and accountability for student deaths linked by families and activists to academic pressure and administrative negligence.
CJP emerged from a satirical protest after unemployed and protesting young people were compared with cockroaches during a public controversy. Supporters adopted the insect as a symbol of survival, transforming what began as online ridicule into a decentralised campaign focused on education, employment and government accountability.
The organisation’s leaders have attempted to keep the movement independent of established political parties. Opposition support, however, has expanded as the confrontation with the authorities has intensified.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were briefly detained on Tuesday after joining a demonstration near the prime minister’s residence. Several Congress leaders staged a sit-in, accusing the government of refusing to engage with protesters and preventing Parliament from discussing their demands.
Government representatives have defended the security measures as necessary to protect restricted zones and maintain order. Officials have also accused opposition parties of attempting to exploit student grievances for political purposes.
Talks between government representatives and protest organisers have produced no agreement. CJP leaders said the discussions lacked firm commitments on ministerial responsibility, examination reform or an independent inquiry.
The group’s national spokesperson, Ashutosh Ranka, described Monday’s march as “just a trailer” and warned that a much larger mobilisation could follow. He said supporters were prepared to face legal action under stringent security laws if the authorities continued to block their demands.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has said the campaign will continue until the government announces concrete measures. Organisers are considering demonstrations beyond Delhi, including coordinated protests at universities, examination centres and state capitals.
Banerjee’s intervention places the agitation within a broader opposition campaign against the Modi government. She accused the Centre of displaying intolerance towards democratic protests and said the police response had exceeded the actions of authoritarian governments.
Her remarks also coincided with the Trinamool Congress’s annual July 21 rally in Kolkata, held in memory of 13 Youth Congress workers killed in police firing during a march towards the state administrative headquarters in 1993. Banerjee led that mobilisation while serving as a Youth Congress leader.
The chief minister drew parallels between the two demonstrations, arguing that the authorities were again attempting to suppress young protesters seeking accountability. The BJP rejected her criticism and accused her of applying different standards to protests outside West Bengal and those directed against her government.
