Supporters of India’s viral Cockroach Janta Party banged steel plates with spoons near Parliament in New Delhi on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities and repeated paper leaks, according to the Associated Press.
Hundreds of students and young supporters of the emerging movement joined the protest, adding pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government while trying to broaden public support over an issue that has angered many young Indians preparing for competitive examinations.
Authorities deployed heavy security around the protest site, with police using cameras and drones to monitor the crowd. Some demonstrators carried placards, while others beat plates with spoons as chants demanding Pradhan’s resignation rang through the area.
The protest tactic appeared to mock Modi’s 2020 appeal during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he urged Indians to step onto balconies and rooftops and bang utensils to show solidarity with front-line health workers.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, had urged supporters on social media to bring plates and spoons to Saturday’s demonstration.
“There is a virus called Dharmendra Pradhan that has to be removed,” he told the crowd, adding that the CJP was willing to hold talks with the government if Pradhan resigned.
The protest came after the exam paper for a nationwide medical programme was leaked last month through the social media app Telegram. Authorities later postponed the exam and temporarily banned Telegram in India. The exam is now scheduled to be held on Sunday, while the government says the leak is under investigation.
For many students, the controversy has deepened frustration over a system they say demands years of sacrifice without guaranteeing fairness.
“We study in poverty, live in poverty for 24 hours everyday, for years at length, and after that our (exam) papers get leaked. Will I not get angry at this?” said student Vicky Kumar.
CJP supporter Deepak Kumar said the agitation would continue unless the government acted. “This is just the beginning. If Dharmendra Pradhan doesn’t resign or if no action is taken regarding this issue, this protest will not end here,” he said.
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged in May after Supreme Court Judge Surya Kant made remarks comparing some unemployed youths to “cockroaches”, triggering anger among young Indians. Supporters of the movement embraced the label as a symbol of survival and resilience.
Since then, the group has grown rapidly online, attracting more than 22 million followers on Instagram. Its message has widened beyond examination leaks to include unemployment, rising living costs and demands for greater government accountability.
The movement blends political criticism with self-deprecating humour, a style that has helped it gain traction among young people frustrated with conventional politics.
Supporters jokingly describe themselves as unemployed and chronically online, while videos and memes mocking joblessness, corruption and political dysfunction have drawn millions of views.
The cockroach has also become a wider satirical symbol, with several parody CJP accounts adopting it to criticise the political establishment.
Saturday’s demonstration showed how an online protest movement built on humour and outrage has begun moving into the streets. For the students who gathered in New Delhi, the plate-banging was not only a parody of an old pandemic ritual, but also a noisy demand for accountability over exams they see as crucial to their futures.
