The Cockroach Janata Party protest has moved from its epicentre at Jantar Mantar to different states, where students are showing solidarity with the movement by coming out on the streets to protest against the government. And the principal opposition party, Congress, has planned to take the lead by providing a political umbrella to the movement, amplifying its voice and protecting it.
The simple understanding within the Congress backroom corridors is that the resentment against several aspects of the government's functioning, such as education, fuel prices, the economic slowdown, and alleged mismanagement of foreign affairs—has created multi-layered dissatisfaction with the BJP-led government. The paper leaks in various examinations, they believe, have become the breaking point, with students across the country now committed to demanding accountability from the government.
Congress leaders believe this will create anti-incumbency against the government and subsequently an electoral vacuum that the party would be better placed to tap. By amplifying the voices of the protest, the party also seeks to sustain and channel the organic anger among students.
According to party leaders, the Congress, and particularly Rahul Gandhi, has always believed that the youth of the country will be the facilitators of India's progress. Therefore, he has been the foremost leader in the party to consistently reach out to students, Gen Z, and young voters.
According to surveys, around one million people attain the legal voting age of 18 every month. While the BJP has been at the helm of the country's governance for the last 12 years, more than 140 million people have transitioned into adulthood during its tenure.
A Congress spokesperson says, "These are mostly students who haven't seen Congress rule and have only seen BJP rule. Throughout their growing years, they have witnessed paper leaks and no convictions in any of those cases. As Rahul ji said in his press conference, more than 150 paper leaks have happened under the BJP."
Party leaders believe this is the first time in the last 12 years that the government has been cornered organically, and that the party should leave no stone unturned in supporting the movement. Before the CJP protest, the biggest mobilisation against the government was the farmers' protest, which began in 2020 and lasted for more than a year. Unlike that movement, however, this protest is unfolding at the heart of the country, in New Delhi.
The party had also instructed its frontal organisation, Seva Dal, to take care of food arrangements at the protest site.
Mukesh, a Seva Dal member, is distributing food at the Jantar Mantar protest site along with other volunteers. "We were given instructions from the beginning of the protest to serve the people who come here. We provide them with water and food along with other groups from different places," Mukesh says.
