With no electricity at the site – protesters claimed power was cut deliberately. (Express Photo)Despite attempts to disperse protesters throughout the day and heavy rain in the evening, there was a sizable crowd at Jantar Mantar shouting slogans against the central government and the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan well past midnight.With no electricity at the site – protesters claimed power was cut deliberately – people used mobile phone torches to make their way around the stage, carrying water bottles, biscuits and other essentials. Also present were a large number of police personnel.Read | Why government is talking to CJP, but stopping short of concessionsAyush Kashyap (21), who travelled from Bulandshahr in western Uttar Pradesh on Monday afternoon on a bus after hearing about the lathi charge on protesters, said, “I have told my parents, who had participated in farmers’ protests, that I will come back after the minister resigns.”The protest against the Education Minister continues at Jantar Mantar. We won’t stop until Dharmendra Pradhan is sacked. pic.twitter.com/i8t7Sx39MQ— Cockroach is Back (@Cockroachisback) July 20, 2026 “I have brought everything needed – a pillow, a bedsheet, a toothbrush… I am ready to be here till the end,” said Kashyap, a B.Com student.As Kashyap looked for a spot to save himself from getting drenched, slogans of “We want justice” rang out from the stage.Ayushi Gupta (23), who lives in Delhi’s Maharani Bagh, came with bottles of water and Good Day biscuits. “My parents have come with me, but they have gotten separated. I will call them after I distribute all this stuff,” said Dhawan, a Master’s student at Kirori Mal College.Also Read | In CJP protest, a reckoning with politics for the apolitical IndianAs she navigated the muddy road, Dhawan said she decided to come after she saw videos on social media of the “brutal lathi charge” by police in the afternoon. “How can students be beaten up like this for demanding a transparent education system? I saw a student who was my age bleeding from the head. How can the government be like this? We elect these people,” said Dhawan.Story continues below this ad Delhi Police personnel disperse the protesters as they attempt to march towards the House, at Parliament Street, on Monday. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)While many like Dhawan came with their families and parked their cars near Janpath, some pooled in money to reach the spot. Three friends – Amit, Prateek and Aman – all in their early twenties, came from north Delhi in a taxi. “We contributed Rs 200 each. We have come here because we need a better education system and more jobs,” said Amit.Aman chimed in: “We are usually awake till late at night, so we decided to come here. We will return home soon because our parents will get worried. But we will come back again tomorrow when the buses are running. The minister has to resign, and this government has to acknowledge that they can be wrong.”Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram