On a sweltering afternoon in New Delhi, students chanted slogans and threw stones at lines of police officers in one of the largest street demonstrations in the capital in years. The protests, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, a social media-driven movement with millions of followers, surged on Wednesday after authorities fired tear gas and baton-charged demonstrators trying to reach parliament.
At least 178 people, including security personnel, were injured in the ensuing clashes. The violence came as part of a broader wave of student anger over a series of exam paper leaks, which have sparked demands for the resignation of the education minister.
Modi’s Response to the Crisis
In response to the unrest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a statement on social media, vowing to set up fast-track courts to punish those responsible for the leaks. He called the welfare of young people 'the most important issue' and said, 'Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared.'
Modi's comments came a day after the Cockroach Janta Party led thousands in a rally, further escalating tensions in the capital. The protests are the largest challenge to his leadership since his re-election in 2024 and reflect growing public frustration with perceived mismanagement in India’s education system. The unrest is organized under the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical online movement formed in May that has evolved into a national platform demanding structural testing reforms and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Origins of the Cockroach Janta Party
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged in May as a reaction to a remark from Chief Justice Surya Kant, who reportedly described young people as 'cockroaches' and 'parasites' during a court hearing. The movement initially took on a satirical tone but soon expanded its platform to include broader concerns: unemployment, opportunities for youth, and what protesters see as Modi's authoritarian tendencies. Speaking to the Indian news agency ANI at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi, the CJP’s founding president, Abhijeet Dipke, accused outside agitators of instigating recent violence to discredit the demonstration. 'People are being sent from outside to deliberately disrupt the protest,' Dipke told ANI. 'We have been sitting here for a month. No such incident has happened. … Goons are being sent from outside … to deliberately incite people.' Dipke later posted on X that Modi appeared 'ready to shut down all of Delhi, but not sack Dharmendra Pradhan.'
A System in Crisis
The crisis has been triggered by a string of exam irregularities. One of the most high-profile incidents involved a leaked medical entrance exam paper, which forced over two million candidates to retake the test. Another controversy arose when online marking of exams for nearly two million high school students sparked further public outrage. CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka dismissed Modi’s judicial proposal as insufficient to address underlying systemic failures. 'The announcement of fast-track courts is not a real solution. It is merely a distraction,' Ranka said in a statement at Jantar Mantar. 'Paper leaks are not happening because India lacked fast-track courts. They are happening because Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been completely incompetent.' The CJP’s demands include Pradhan’s immediate resignation, the dropping of cases against peaceful demonstrators and 10 million rupees ($120,000) in financial assistance for each of the families of at least 12 students who have died by suicide since recent exam cancellations.
These repeated scandals have eroded trust in India’s examination system and fueled a sense of disillusionment among students, many of whom feel their futures are being undermined by corruption and mismanagement.