Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday vowed “stringent punishment” for those involved in exam fraud, making his first direct remarks on the student protests that have posed a major challenge to his government.
His comments followed fresh clashes in New Delhi on Wednesday, when thousands of demonstrators led by the social‑media‑driven Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) rallied against exam paper leaks. Police fired tear gas and used batons to push back crowds.
“Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth,” Modi said in a social media post, pledging to set up fast‑track courts to punish those responsible for question paper leaks.
“Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared,” he added.
The protests, largely driven by young students, have centered on demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Anger erupted Monday when tens of thousands attempted to march on parliament during the opening of the monsoon session, defying a ban. Police responded with tear gas and baton charges, while protesters hurled stones in return.
Authorities said at least 178 people, including security personnel, were injured in the violence — the largest street rally in the capital in about five years.
The CJP, which now counts millions of followers online, began in May as a satirical response to Chief Justice Surya Kant’s reported remarks likening young people to “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a court hearing.
Since then, the movement has broadened its agenda to include unemployment, lack of opportunities, and what it describes as Modi’s increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
The unrest has become one of the most significant challenges to Modi since his re‑election for a third term in 2024.
Exam irregularities have undermined trust in India’s testing system, including the leak of a medical entrance paper that forced more than two million candidates to retake the test.
Another dispute over online marking of exams taken by nearly two million high school students has further stoked public anger.
