The Delhi Police granted permission for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday shortly after its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, arrived from the US, according to government sources, who indicated that authorities feared denying permission could incite further unrest among youth, potentially mirroring situations in Bangladesh and Nepal where Gen Z anger was difficult to control. Dipke was asked to apply for permission and sign an undertaking upon landing, receiving approval rapidly, despite the CJP's legal team having pre-prepared application documents. A CJP spokesperson announced the secured permission on X, directing protesters to Jantar Mantar and demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over CBSE and NEET controversies, with approximately 1500 individuals, primarily students, attending the demonstration, while police made extensive arrangements and detained some right-wing groups attempting to disrupt the protest.

The Delhi Police granted permission for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday shortly after its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, arrived from the US, according to government sources, who indicated that authorities feared denying permission could incite further unrest among youth, potentially mirroring situations in Bangladesh and Nepal where Gen Z anger was difficult to control. Dipke was asked to apply for permission and sign an undertaking upon landing, receiving approval rapidly, despite the CJP's legal team having pre-prepared application documents. A CJP spokesperson announced the secured permission on X, directing protesters to Jantar Mantar and demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over CBSE and NEET controversies, with approximately 1500 individuals, primarily students, attending the demonstration, while police made extensive arrangements and detained some right-wing groups attempting to disrupt the protest.

The Delhi Police granted permission for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday shortly after its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, arrived from the US, according to government sources, who indicated that authorities feared denying permission could incite further unrest among youth, potentially mirroring situations in Bangladesh and Nepal where Gen Z anger was difficult to control. Dipke was asked to apply for permission and sign an undertaking upon landing, receiving approval rapidly, despite the CJP's legal team having pre-prepared application documents. A CJP spokesperson announced the secured permission on X, directing protesters to Jantar Mantar and demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over CBSE and NEET controversies, with approximately 1500 individuals, primarily students, attending the demonstration, while police made extensive arrangements and detained some right-wing groups attempting to disrupt the protest.

The Delhi Police reportedly decided to allow the Cockroach Janta Party to protest at the Jantar Mantar on Saturday within minutes of its founder Abhijeet Dipke landing at the Delhi airport, government sources said.

Dipke, who arrived from the US, landed at the airport on the morning of June 6, was taken to a room where the police asked him to apply for the permission to protest and sign an undertaking, the sources told The Hindu.

Within minutes of signing, he was given the permission letter. The police reportedly did this despite the CJP’s legal team having pre-prepared a separate set of documents for the application for permission. They were reportedly planning to apply with Dipke accompanying them.

The government sources said that the police, after analysing conversations on social media and getting a sense of the situation, felt that refusing permission might have led to protesters storming the venue or a police station, which would further fuel the anger among the youth.

On Saturday morning Saurav Das, one of the group's spokespersons, posted the permission document on X: “Permission for the Cockroach Protest #CJPProtest Secured from Authorities. Everyone, proceed straight to Jantar Mantar. Do NOT go to Parliament Street. Please come directly to Jantar Mantar. Dharmendra Pradhan, isteefa do!” “

When asked why the police chose to grant permission to the CJP, a member told the Hindu, “Maybe they feared a repeat of the situation in Bangladesh and Nepal, where it was difficult to control the anger of Gen Z. They must have thought it was better to allow the protest than to curtail it somehow.”

The police made elaborate arrangements to control the situation at the site of the protests and even deployed a large task force.

Das said that the organisers of the protests were grateful to the police.

“Some right-wing groups tried to create problems at the venue, but they were detained by the police and taken away. Social media was filled with negative comments, and we really thank the Delhi Police for their cooperation,” he said.

About 1500 people, a majority of them students, gathered at the Jantar Mantar to show support and protest at the gathering. The CJP demanded that the Education Minister Dhamendra Pradhan resign over the recent CBSE and NEET controversies.

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