Hundreds of students, parents and young professionals assembled at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday for the first major street action by the Cockroach Janta Party, turning an online campaign into a public demonstration calling for accountability over alleged irregularities in national examinations and recruitment tests as well as the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Wearing cockroach masks and holding books, flowers and the national flag, participants gathered under heavy security in central Delhi. The movement’s founder accused authorities of ignoring student concerns while attempting to suppress online dissent.
The event drew participants from several states after weeks of social media activity focused on alleged problems in NEET, CBSE, CUET and SSC tests. The founder arrived in the capital on Saturday and urged a peaceful protest.
The demonstration represented a shift for the group, which began as an online satirical response and grew into a youth-led national campaign addressing examinations, recruitment, unemployment and government accountability.
Saturday marked its first major effort to move from digital support to a physical gathering. Organisers repeated demands for transparency in testing processes.
The founder renewed calls for the minister’s resignation, stating that five students had died by suicide. He told reporters that authorities had focused on deleting social media accounts rather than addressing the issues.
He described the campaign as a peaceful constitutional effort and said he was prepared to face possible restrictions on his freedom. He noted that while some individuals had yielded to pressure, young people had remained committed.
Participants carried flowers, which were later offered to police, and many held books or copies of the Constitution. The cockroach masks symbolised the movement’s origins. Activist Sonam Wangchuk expressed support and stated he would begin a six-week fast if the founder were detained.
School students attended with parents, while college students and young professionals formed the majority of the crowd. Slogans called for greater accountability and reforms in examinations.
Wangchuk urged demonstrators to remain peaceful and cooperate with officials. The founder thanked him and noted his planned participation.
Authorities deployed more than 1,000 police personnel across New Delhi and other locations ahead of the event.
