Members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) staged a protest in Chandigarh on Saturday, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over what they described as “anti‑people” policies and a controversial India–US trade deal that, according to them, harms Indian youth and workers.
Protesters gathered in the city’s Sector 33 area and attempted to march towards the BJP office, but police prevented them from advancing. As tensions rose, authorities used water cannons and baton charges to disperse the demonstrators and stop their march.
This demonstration came on the heels of similar actions in other cities, where Youth Congress activists voiced opposition to the Central government’s policies and called for greater accountability. Some members were heard chanting slogans directly criticising Prime Minister Modi and the BJP leadership.
According to local Congress leaders present at the protest, the aim was to highlight the impact of recent national decisions including trade agreements and economic policies on Indian youth, jobs, education and economic security. They said the protest was a show of dissent against what they view as policies that favour elite interests over those of young people and ordinary citizens.
Police maintained that the protest was peaceful initially but had to intervene to prevent disruption of public order, and that they would take appropriate action if laws were violated.
The protest reflects growing political mobilization among youth wings ahead of key state and national elections, with opposing parties increasingly using public demonstrations to voice their policy disagreements.
