Representatives of India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) sat down with the government on Friday, hours after activist Sonam Wangchuk ended his 26-day hunger strike in solidarity with their cause. The talks came as a months-long protest movement—dismissed by authorities for weeks—finally forced the ruling party to engage.
The CJP, an online satirical movement that has become a platform for young Indians' anxieties, is demanding the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over a string of exam paper leaks. The latest trigger was the leak of the medical entrance exam NEET, which nearly 2.28 million candidates sat on 3 May before it was cancelled and re-scheduled.
“India's 'cockroach' protesters held talks with the government after a 26-day hunger strike ended and PM Modi promised a new exam leak law.”
"The government has asked for a day to decide on our biggest demand—the minister's resignation," said CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka after the meeting. "The protest will continue and will keep growing until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns. If that does not happen soon, we will be forced to announce another nationwide protest call."
According to another CJP spokesperson, Saurav Das, the government responded positively to two other demands: compensation for the families of students who died by suicide after the exam cancellation, and withdrawal of police cases against protesters who joined a march to parliament. The two sides will meet again on Saturday. Federal minister JP Nadda told reporters the government would inform the CJP that day "about the discussion we had among the government".
The protests, which began more than a month ago, escalated dramatically after a police crackdown on protesters marching to parliament left dozens injured. That followed the forcible removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from the protest site and his hospitalisation a week ago. The government's initial strategy of ignoring the movement unravelled as public anger grew.
On Thursday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a vertical video—seen as an attempt to reach young protesters on Instagram—announcing a tough new law on examination paper leaks. "I have received a draft of the law," he said, "and we want to introduce it soon in parliament." The move came too late to halt the momentum of a movement that has now forced the government to negotiate, however tentatively, with those it once called 'cockroaches'.