For the first time, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders are on the streets.
From slogans demanding azadi from paper leaks to placards carrying messages against the government and the education minister, the protest reflects a broader sentiment of discontent.
Some placards also highlight Prime Minister Narendra Modi's absence from press conferences, while others question the government's handling of the Manipur crisis, where ethnic violence between the Kuki and Meitei communities continues.
But the leader of the movement, Abhijeet Dipke, has confined the aim of the movement to seek the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister for Education.
Dipke began sloganeering for the resignation of the minister soon after he emerged from the Delhi airport after his flight from the US.
CJP supporters at Delhi's Jantar Mantar also chanted slogans against the minister.
"Cockroaches are coming, Dharmendra Pradhan is going!” one of the slogans said.
There is also a strategic logic behind keeping the protest focused on the resignation of the Union Education Minister. This is because it seeks to mobilise students angered by repeated paper leaks—an issue backed by tangible evidence and students' suicides.
By concentrating on a specific grievance, the formation hopes to retain the movement's issue-based character, rather than allowing it to be viewed as a broader political campaign against the government.
Political observers believe that an explicitly anti-government narrative could also enable critics to dismiss the movement as politically motivated. Such a narrative could also lose momentum over time, particularly if opposition parties with larger organisational structures and a wider grassroots footprint begin to own the issue.
A clearly defined demand, therefore, helps the movement maintain the credibility of its cause.
"The first sign of the movement's success would be the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, though that appears unlikely at present," a political analyst said.
"If it does happen, it would validate the movement's positioning and provide momentum for it to continue raising issues against the government and would the government want that? The answer is no."
Sagar Trivedi, a student participating in the protest, said that repeated paper leaks have eroded the students' faith in the examination system.
"Despite back-to-back breaches, neither has the government taken adequate corrective measures, nor has the education minister accepted responsibility by resigning," he said.
Origins of the CJP
It was the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, who likened young people criticising the government to “cockroaches” during a hearing last month that reportedly set things in motion.
Within a week after that, Dipke launched a satirical page on Instagram under the name CJP. It received tremendous support within hours, and in few days, had crossed 22 million followers, with the slogan: “A political front for the youth, by the youth, for the youth.”
After around three weeks of its successful journey on the internet, the formation has hit the ground for the first time, attracting large swathes of youth at the protest site.
Later, Ladakh-based activist and innovator Sonam Wangchuk also joined the Cockroach party protest at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
According to reports, a pamphlet distributed at the site—which said that the party's petition seeking Pradhan's resignation had received more than 8 lakh signatures—the Cockroach Janta Party said that the demonstration was aimed at "demanding accountability, seeking justice, and calling for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation".
