As the sun began to set over Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday evening, police made announcements through loudspeakers, informing protesters that the gathering had been declared illegal and they should disperse.
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) The leaders and some protesters showed no signs of backing down.
The protesters continued banging steel plates and spoons, while CJP founder Abhijeet Dubke He posted a video urging supporters across the country to launch peaceful “fill the jail” protests if he was arrested.
Students and supporters from several states participated in the protest focused on demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over examination-related controversies. banging plates and shouting slogans in unison“Go Pradhan Go” – a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown.
But beyond the slogans and speeches, another question emerged Saturday: What next for a movement that has increasingly transformed from a social media campaign to a visible presence on the streets?
The answer is still not clear.
Cockroach Janata Party has attracted people towards itself for the last several months. Have a large number of followers online and organized demonstrations over issues such as exam integrity, alleged paper leaks and recruitment concerns. Saturday’s protests showed that the group can attract supporters beyond social media platforms. Whether it can sustain that momentum, expand its agenda or evolve into a more structured organization remains an open question.
Movement born out of anger and frustration
CJP’s second protest at Jantar Mantar came a day before the re-examination of NEET-UG and nearly a month after allegations of paper leaks and irregularities created a national controversy over the testing process.
Speakers from the stage repeatedly targeted the National Testing Agency (NTA), accusing it of failing students and shirking accountability. Placards demanding the resignation of the Education Minister competed with posters questioning the credibility of the examination systems, which affect lakhs of candidates every year.
The concerns were echoed by many in the crowd.
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“Whenever there is an issue, NTA blames it on technical glitches. The agency uses these technical glitches as a shield to avoid responsibility,” said Gautam Babu, 28, a judiciary aspirant from Bihar who now lives in Delhi.
Others pointed to the emotional impact exam controversies have on students.
Hunar Jain, an 18-year-old undergraduate student from Delhi, said, “A friend had taken the drop for NEET last year. She prepared not only for NEET but many other paramedical entrance exams. She was really happy and hopeful after she gave the paper in May. Then we heard that the paper has been leaked.”
“It’s been more than a month since his family and friends have been counseling him. It’s not just NEET, he has lost motivation to appear for other exams.”
Throughout the day, some strong reactions were generated from the crowd in the context of NEET, exam stress and accountability, showing that these issues remain the strongest rallying points of the movement.
Rise of cockroaches?
The genesis of the ‘Cockroach’ movement was visible everywhere at Jantar Mantar.
Many attendees said it was the first time they encountered CJP online. Some were wearing cockroach masks. Others live streamed the speeches and uploaded videos from the venue. Unlike traditional student movements, which often emerge from university campuses, the CJP’s support base appears to have been largely gathered through social media.
This has allowed it to attract people who may never have participated in organized political activity before.
“I am from Mumbai. There has been no protest against CJP there, but the issues the party is raising resonate everywhere where students live,” said Neil Khopkar, a 29-year-old working professional who had come to join the protest.
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“The quality of education in private and public institutions is increasing every year.”
Many protesters described the movement as organic rather than organizational.
A young public policy professional who participated in the protests said that one of the reasons people associated with the CJP was that it had not emerged from the traditional political structure.
“The movement started on social media rather than in organized rooms. It was organic and fresh and that’s why people connected,” he said.
Yet that same characteristic raises questions about its future. Social media can help create visibility quickly, but sustaining a movement often requires structures, leadership networks, and long-term goals that go beyond digital engagement.
Can CJP move ahead of exams and paper leaks?
As the day progressed, organizers attempted to broaden the conversation.
The speeches discussed unemployment, governance and the broader challenges facing young Indians. Dipke himself criticized what he described as divisive politics and questioned whether such debates helped address issues affecting students.
The question is whether supporters are joining because of the CJP itself or because of the exam-related issues that brought them together in the first place.
Many participants acknowledged uncertainty about where the movement would go next.
“No one knows where this is going,” the public policy professional said.
Others suggested that the appeal of the movement lay precisely in that uncertainty.
Also read: ‘Start jail bharo movement’: Abhijeet Dubke tells youth to continue protesting if they are arrested
Unlike traditional political organisations, the CJP has so far mainly focused on examinations, accountability and student-related issues. Expanding beyond this could potentially attract a larger audience, but it may also require the group to take stances on issues that currently fall outside its core agenda.
“We’re trying to fix this first, fix our education system, but there’s a lot more that needs to be done if we want a better future for ourselves,” said an 18-year-old protester.
Political movements often reach a point where they must decide whether to remain issue-based platforms or evolve into broader campaigns. CJP may soon have to face the same choice.
Abhijeet ahead of Dubke
For much of Saturday, the protest revolved around its founder.
When Abhijeet Dubke reached the venue, he was welcomed with loud applause. His speeches attracted the biggest crowds and supporters repeatedly gathered near the stage to listen to his speeches.
At one point, he asked the crowd whether they wanted to end the protests at 5 pm when police permission expired, or continue until the education minister resigned. Many people reacted by calling for the protest to continue.
Later, after the police refused permission, most of the people left but some protesters formed a circle around the stage as security personnel entered the area in large numbers.
Dipke’s prominence has undoubtedly helped build the movement. But it also raises a question that many growing organizations ultimately face: Can they grow beyond a single leader?
The call for district-level “fill the jail” protests appeared to be an attempt to decentralize the movement and encourage local mobilization. Whether supporters take up that call could provide an early indication of how deeply rooted the organization’s support network really is.
What happens when immediate demand is not met?
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the CJP is one that faces many protest movements: What if the demands at the center of the movement are not met?
Despite several weeks of mobilization, there is no indication that the government is considering the resignation of the Education Minister. Yet many supporters insist the campaign cannot end there.
“Today there is fire in the hearts of the youth, but they are holding peaceful protests just so that Dharmendra Pradhan can resign. But if that doesn’t happen, I am sure they will all gather in Parliament,” a protester told HT.
Others argued that the issue extended beyond any one minister.
“The government has put all its machinery in place, from airlifting the re-NEET paper to banning Telegram. So much of taxpayers’ money is going into it. Why can’t they conduct the exam on their own instead of outsourcing it to an agency that is not answerable to anyone, including Parliament,” said Ranvijay, a 32-year-old PhD scholar at JNU.
Whether the CJP will remain a pressure group focused on the exams, evolve into a broader platform for youth issues or struggle to maintain momentum after the NEET controversy subsides, remains to be seen.
At the moment, even “Cockroaches” admit they don’t know where this is going.
(With inputs from Gargi Shukla).
