Nothing can stop youth: Chirag Paswan questions Delhi clampdown ahead of CJP protest

Union minister and BJP ally Chirag Paswan on Friday sought to question the Narendra Modi government’s unprecedented security clampdown ahead of the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest in Delhi, asserting that "nothing can stop" the country’s youth.

Paswan’s remarks marked the first direct criticism from a key NDA ally of the Centre’s decision to cancel trains, shut Metro stations and deploy a large number of security personnel to prevent protesters from gathering in Delhi.

The criticism from the food processing industries minister came amid a view within sections of the government that the restrictions were aimed at portraying the protesters as "dimagi Naxals" bent on creating anarchy and destabilising the Modi government.

Government strategists believe that unlike the NEET paper leak, the "vote chori" campaign lacks wider public traction and the clampdown would therefore have little impact on the Modi dispensation’s popularity.

"These are the youth of India — nothing can stop them. To those attempting to spread such misconceptions, I ask: how many trains can anyone really stop? How much connectivity can be blocked? How many roads can be jammed?" Paswan, who heads the LJP (Ram Vilas), told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Sonipat, Haryana.

He was responding to questions about the cancellation of trains and the closure of Metro stations ahead of Saturday’s protest. "These are India’s youth. They possess the capacity to show the world the way, just as previous generations have done. Nothing can hold them back,” he added.

Paswan, however, also criticised the Congress-led Opposition’s protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, calling for dialogue to resolve the confrontation. "They simply want to create a ruckus every day — something they have been doing for the past three days,” he said, alleging a political motive behind the repeated protests.

On the CJP's proposed protest, the minister said: "Tomorrow, the group known as the CJP will also be there. I certainly believe that the youth, especially Gen Z, must be heard. There should be a dialogue so that we can move towards a positive solution."

Amid the security clampdown, home minister Amit Shah sought to project the party’s victories in the bypolls as a reflection of the people’s faith in Modi's leadership. "The BJP, under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji, continues to win elections one after another despite the lies and disinformation campaigns run by Rahul Gandhi and the INDI Alliance...."