(Photo credit: CJP/X)
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) gathered for the first time at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Saturday, taking the social media campaign off screens and into its biggest real-world test.The participants mostly students, young professionals, and some schoolchildren accompanied by parents, assembled in the city’s designated protest zone wearing cockroach masks, holding flowers and national flags.
‘Today’s protest was just a trailer’
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who called for the protest, arrived in Delhi from the United States on Saturday morning and reached Jantar Mantar after receiving police permission.Sharing updates on the CJP’s official account, Dipke wrote, “FYI, today’s protest was just a trailer. Thank you for showing up in such huge numbers!” “Going home to see my parents, it’s been more than a year since I last met them. They’ve suffered a lot over the last 15 days and had to leave home because of threats. Will be taking them back to home,” he added.
From Boomers to GenZ
In another post sharing a video of the gathering he said, “They said cockroaches will never come on the ground…” Another video shared by the CJP founder featured an elderly supporter with the caption, “Even the elders’ blessings are with the cockroach.”In the video, the man said he had joined the protest because when older generations support young people, it encourages them to move forward and strengthens their voice.
The cockroaches’ rebellion
Protesters raised slogans demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and also spoke against “Hindu-Muslim” politics, while chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”Dipke had instructed supporters to maintain discipline, urging them to only raise slogans hailing the country, Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar, while opposing communal politics.Speaking to the crowd, he said, “This is not just the fear of my mother, this is the fear of the parents of any youngster who speaks on politics…. How long will we live in fear? Tell them, we are not scared.”He also alleged pressure and intimidation around the movement, saying, “My friends, this is a long struggle.””It has been a month since we started demanding Pradhan’s resignation on social media, but these individuals are so shameless that instead of taking action, they have been focussed on other distractions, like hacking our accounts and getting our posts deleted. You may be able to delete our posts, but you cannot erase us from this space,” he added.
Support from activists and public figures
The protest also saw participation from activist Sonam Wangchuk, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI leader Annie Raja, and other Left youth and student groups. Wangchuk said he was impressed by the peaceful nature of the protest and appreciated that authorities permitted it. He also said he would undertake a six-week fast if Dipke is arrested.He thanked Dipke, calling him the “Cockroach-in-Chief,” and told protesters, “You did not keep sitting at home crying nor are you creating any ruckus on the road.”Wangchuk also said, “I hope that even in the future, it will allow such creative expressions.”The CJP, which has grown as a digital-first movement, continues to demand accountability in competitive examinations and recruitment processes, with its supporters calling the Delhi protest a symbolic shift from online activism to on-ground mobilisation. The protest, which began in the morning under heavy police deployment, saw supporters carrying posters and copies of the Constitution, chanting slogans and demanding accountability in alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, including NEET, CBSE, CUET and SSC.Security was tightened across central Delhi, with over 1,000 police personnel deployed across key locations, including the protest site, airport and border entry points. Six people were detained as a precaution to prevent any potential law and order issues, officials said. Go to Source
