Thousands of supporters of India's Cockroach Janta party (CJP) were met with canes and tear gas as they defied a police ban to march on parliament on Monday, demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged exam paper leaks. Several demonstrators said they were injured in the cane charges; police did not comment. Some in the crowd threw stones, according to reports.
The protest, which drew tens of thousands of students, parents, teachers and professionals to the historic Jantar Mantar observatory in central Delhi despite heavy rain, follows weeks of demonstrations over a wider education system crisis. The movement has become one of the most visible expressions of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent years.
“Thousands of Cockroach Janta supporters marching on parliament were caned and tear-gassed by Delhi police.”
The CJP takes its name from a remark by India's chief justice, who drew criticism for comparing sections of unemployed young people to "cockroaches" during a court hearing. The party was founded in May by Abhijeet Dipke, 30, an Indian national who recently graduated from a US university. Outraged by the comments, Dipke jokingly put out a social media call: "What if all cockroaches came together?" The response was overwhelming: within two weeks, the party's Instagram page had more than 22 million followers, overtaking Modi's Bharatiya Janata party. The government attempted to block the accounts on national security grounds but was unsuccessful.
Dipke has focused the movement on the burning issue of medical entrance exam leaks – more than 2 million students compete for just 130,000 places, and many families spend life savings on coaching. A string of exam leaks has forced millions into re-takes and been linked to dozens of suicides in recent years.
The march gathered fresh momentum after police forcibly moved activist Sonam Wangchuk into hospital on the 21st day of a hunger strike in support of the movement. His wife says his fast continues. On Monday, Wangchuk appealed to doctors to discharge him so he could join the march but was not allowed.
As the march began, protesters spilled onto the streets before being halted at successive barricades. Many sat on the road waving flags and shouting slogans. Others broke away in smaller groups, trying to reach parliament through narrow side streets. Inside parliament, the opening day of the monsoon session was repeatedly adjourned as opposition MPs protested over the alleged paper leak. By late evening police had completely dismantled the protest site. It remains unclear whether the CJP will call off its protest or try to continue the sit-in.
