The Cockroach Janta Party staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan [1].
The demonstration highlights growing public frustration over the integrity of national competitive exams and the perceived failure of government oversight in the education sector.
Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) focused its demands on an alleged leak of the NEET 2026 examination paper and irregularities within the CBSE On-Screen Marking system [2, 3]. Protesters set a deadline for the minister to resign by 5 p.m. on the day of the protest [4].
To mark the event, the group released a 292-page satirical book titled “We Are Cockroaches” [5]. The demonstration featured slogans criticizing the government's industrial and educational policies. One prominent slogan used by a CJP spokesperson was, “We asked for ‘Make in India’, you gave us ‘Leak in India’” [6].
Activist Sonam Wangchuk participated in the protest, expanding the critique beyond the specific exam leak. "Not only exam or education, change needs to be in all systems," Wangchuk said [7].
Security was a significant presence at the site. Authorities deployed more than 1,000 police personnel to manage the crowd at Jantar Mantar [1].
Dipke emphasized the resilience of the movement during the event. "Can't erase us," Dipke said [8].
““We asked for ‘Make in India’, you gave us ‘Leak in India’””
The emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party as a vehicle for protest reflects a trend of using satire and unconventional political identities to voice systemic grievances. By linking the NEET 2026 leak to broader governance failures, the movement seeks to transform a specific administrative crisis into a wider demand for institutional reform in India's education and public systems.
