Hundreds of youths have participated in a protest called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, India. A large number of the youths who gathered wore 'cockroach masks'. They carried national flags and textbooks in their hands.

CJP founder Abhijit Deepke, 30, led the movement on Saturday. He had arrived in New Delhi on Saturday after studying in the US. 'Chains are not afraid,' he told the protesters. CJP has more followers on Instagram than mainstream parties. More than 20 million people have followed CJP in less than a month.

'If Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not resign, CJP will protest in many cities in India for a week.' Then next week, we will protest again at Jantar Mantar,' he said, 'For the last 10-12 years, we have been trapped in Hindu-Muslim politics. Has this given anyone employment? Who has benefited from all this? I am ready to sacrifice my freedom to fight against this,' he said.

He said that in the past, the government had tried to delete CJP's X account to weaken the youth's campaign. 'The youth and students of this country have not sold themselves. There was an attempt to suppress this campaign. You can delete our posts. But we cannot delete us.'

'Kakroch Janata Party' (CJP), which started as an online joke, has gathered a large number of youth in a short time to protest against the government. The youth have protested against the leakage of question papers of various exams, lack of employment and declining economic opportunities. They demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, taking moral responsibility for the question paper leak and the postponement of the exam.

The government had postponed the exam held on May 3 after the question paper leak of the medical entrance exam was confirmed. As a result, nearly 2 million youths have to retake the exam. The CJP has demanded the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan, saying that this incident has occurred due to lack of accountability in the government.

Delhi Police has detained six people during the protest. Officials said that they were taken into custody after a clash was seen between the protesters and government supporters. Some youths were chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans during the protest. The police had taken them out of the protest site to prevent them from infiltrating the protest.

Famous education activist Sonam Wangchuk, Indian Communist Party (CPI) leader Annie Raja and other prominent figures participated in the protest. CPI leader Vinoy Vishwam has condemned the beating of Annie by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers during the protest. Similarly, he has expressed his support for the CJP's campaign.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal has also expressed his support for the 'Kakroch Abhiyan'. He said that this movement has emerged as an expression of the intense anger and frustration experienced by the youth in the country. Expressing his opinion through social media, he said that instead of calling the protesters unnational, the government should address their concerns and demands. He demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately remove Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from his post.

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray has also expressed his support for the protest. He said that the government should not make the mistake of suppressing the voice of the youth. Another Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut made the message sent by Thackeray public on social media.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has also expressed his support for the protest. He said that the voice of the protesters should reach the arrogant ruler.

From sarcastic protest to serious political movement

It has not even been a month since CJP started as a campaign. However, it has provided a big platform for the youth, who are frustrated by not getting opportunities in India, to strengthen their voice in favor of good governance through social media.

The path to the rise of CJP was paved after the controversial remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing in the Supreme Court on May 15. During the hearing of the case related to the senior advocates' post dispute, the Chief Justice had asked the complainant, "There are already parasites in the society who attack the system, and do you want to join hands with them?"

He added, "There are youth like chains in the country. Who do not get any job, who have no place in their profession. Some of them become media workers, some join social media, some become RTI activists. Some become other activists and they start attacking everyone." His comment was met with a loud outcry on social media.

On May 16, Abhijit Deepke asked on social media X, "What will happen if all the chains unite?" The question was asked in jest, and later that day, inspired by some of the responses he received, Deepke claimed that a new platform has been announced to "include all the youth who are outside the system of India."

It was named ‘Kakroch Janata Party’ (CJP). It also had a link to a website. The website mentioned some criteria that those who wanted to join the party had to meet: they had to be unemployed, lazy, constantly online and able to grumble professionally. After CJP’s sarcasm, the Chief Justice had to clarify that his speech was not aimed at all youth.

Abhijit Deepke emerged as the new leader of the youth. Before going to Boston to study, he also looked after the social media department of the Aam Aadmi Party from 2020 to 2023. However, he said that the current campaign has no connection with any of the old parties.

CJP has also gained popularity among the youth because it raises sharp questions about India’s political anomalies. Its website also has a manifesto containing five demands.

Where it is written: If the CJP government comes to power, the Chief Justice will not be guaranteed a seat in the Rajya Sabha after retirement, any act of nullifying or removing any valid vote will be treated as a terrorist act,  To keep the media independent, the licenses of media owned by Ambani and Adani will be revoked, 50 percent reservation will be provided for women in the Parliament and the Council of Ministers without increasing the constituency,  MPs who leave one party and join another party will be barred from contesting elections for 20 years .