The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a mock political movement that has rapidly gained traction on social media, launched a nationwide protest campaign on Thursday, drawing hundreds of students and supporters to Savitribai Phule Pune University and escalating its demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged examination irregularities and paper leaks.
The Pune rally marked the movement's second major public demonstration after its first street protest in New Delhi last week. Organisers described the gathering as the beginning of a broader national mobilisation that will expand to multiple cities before culminating in a planned protest in the national capital later this month.
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Addressing supporters, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, a political communications strategist and student at Boston University, said Thursday's event was the start of a wider campaign aimed at holding the government accountable on issues affecting young people.
"The government cannot ignore the youth," Dipke, who recently returned from the United States to lead the campaign, told reporters.
He also warned that supporters would return to New Delhi if the education minister did not resign.
In a statement posted on X, the group announced a multi-city protest schedule, with demonstrations planned in Lucknow on June 12, Amritsar on June 13, Hyderabad on June 14 and Jaipur on June 15. It also called on young people from across the country to gather in Delhi on June 20 for what it described as a "massive protest".
