Hundreds of protesters gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, with founder Abhijeet Dipke delivering the message not to be “scared”.
At a press conference later, CJP spokespersons announced that they will wait for a week either for the Centre to sack Pradhan or his voluntary resignation, after which they would launch a countrywide protest.
Dipke, who called for the protest, arrived in Delhi from the United States on Saturday morning, walking out of the airport carrying a copy of B R Ambedkar's autobiography. After receiving permission from the Delhi Police, he reached Jantar Mantar, where crowds were gathering since morning.
Protesters, armed with posters demanding Pradhan’s resignation, were seen wearing cockroach masks, which were being distributed at the venue. Besides demanding the education minister’s resignation, the protesters also raised slogans demanding that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stop indulging in “Hindu-Muslim” politics, and hailed the motherland with “Bharat Mata ki Jai” slogans.
Dipke instructed them to only raise slogans hailing the country, Mahatma Gandhi and Ambedkar, while opposing communal politics.
The CJP founder said his mother cried more on his return than when he had left for the US, as she feared his arrest on coming back to India.
“This is not just the fear of my mother, this is the fear of the parents of any youngster who speaks on politics.... How long will we live in fear? Tell them, we are not scared,” he said.
The CJP founder participated in the demonstration held under heavy security. He was later joined by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI’s Annie Raja and activists from Left student and youth organisations also participated in the protest.
“My friends, this is a long struggle. It has been a month since we started demanding Pradhan’s resignation on social media, but these individuals are so shameless that instead of taking action, they have been focussed on other distractions, like hacking our accounts and getting our posts deleted. You may be able to delete our posts, but you cannot erase us from this space,” Dipke said during his address to the crowd, which energetically supported his words.
Recalling his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier in the morning, Dipke said just before his plane was about to land, he felt as though he was living his last moments of freedom. “I was fully prepared to sacrifice my freedom for this cause,” he said.
The CJP founder claimed that many people have compromised themselves and “sold out” due to the fear of imprisonment. “Lekin is desh ka chatra, yuva nahi bika hai (The youth and students of this country have not sold themselves),” he said amid loud cheers from the crowd.
According to the CJP, the number of protesters at the event ran in thousands. In a statement, the organisation said the turnout “exceeded all expectations” and was “a result of high public frustration and a lack of outlet to register it”.
It added that it remains committed to a “peaceful, democratic struggle and to building a pro-youth, pro-education, pro-Constitution and pro-India movement that raises the voices of students and young people across the nation”.
School students were also seen attending the protest along with their parents, while most participants were college students and young professionals.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk said he was impressed with the youngsters and their peaceful protest and appreciated that the government allowed it.
“I hope that even in the future, it will allow such creative expressions,” he said, adding that he thanked Dipke, calling him the “cockroach-in-chief”, and told protesters, “You did not keep sitting at home crying, nor are you creating any ruckus on the road.”
The protest ended around 3:30 pm after Dipke started feeling unwell.
At the press conference, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said, “We are giving the government seven days. Either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign respectfully or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him. If his resignation does not come within seven days, this movement will spread throughout the country.”
“The time has come to reset our education system and we have started that reset today,” Ranka said, asserting that the demand for Pradhan’s resignation is the immediate focus of the movement.
The protest was organised by the CJP, a youth-led online movement demanding accountability for alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, including the NEET, CBSE, CUET and SSC examinations.
Security was heightened across the national capital in anticipation of the protest. Police officials said more than 1,000 personnel were deployed throughout Delhi at the airport, border entry points, and other sensitive locations.
Six people were detained by Delhi Police as a precautionary measure to prevent a possible confrontation between two groups during the protest at Jantar Mantar.
The detentions were made to maintain law and order after police received inputs about possible tensions between supporters and opposers of the online movement.
The Delhi Police also clarified that no FIR has been registered in connection with the protest and urged citizens not to circulate unverified information, advising reliance only on official updates.
In the run-up to the protest, CJP had circulated guidelines urging participants to maintain non-violent conduct and avoid confrontation. Dipke also reiterated appeals for peaceful engagement with law enforcement during the demonstration.
(With inputs from PTI)