CJP Protest: Students slam paper leaks, call for ‘overhaul of education system’, Pradhan’s resignation

Sheena Sachdeva & Shradha Chettri

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), organised a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi today. These were the most raised topics at CJP protests – “better education system”, “resignation of Union education minister”, “irregularities in entrance exams”, and “paper leaks.”

Hundreds of students, their parents, social media influencers and young professionals gathered for the peaceful demonstration, amid heavy security, many of whom were wearing cockroach masks and holding flowers.

The 'peaceful protest' was organised by the CJP, a youth-led online movement demanding accountability for alleged irregularities in NTA entrance exams and recruitment tests, including NEET, CBSE, CUET, and SSC examinations.

More than 1,000 police personnel were deployed throughout the demonstration and other strategic locations as a precaution.

Before the protest, CJP had circulated guidelines urging participants to maintain non-violent conduct and avoid confrontation.

'CJP Zindabad': Youth demands Pradhan's resignation

Protesters were seen chanting slogans such as “Inquilab zindabad”, “CJP zindabad” and “Abhijeet Dipke zindabad.” Also, Saurav Das, an investigative journalist supporting the movement, was seen holding the picture of Ambedkar and the Constitution

Student group AISA’s national president, Neha, was also present, raising slogans with the Dipke.

Dipke also criticised the government for focusing on organisational social media activity rather than addressing their demands, which include the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests.

While addressing the crowd, Dipke said: "My friends, this is a long struggle. It has been a month since we started demanding Pradhan's resignation on social media, but these individuals are so shameless that instead of taking action, they have been focused on other distractions, like hacking our accounts and getting our posts deleted. You may be able to delete our posts, but you cannot erase us from this space."

Students demand education minister's resignation. (Image: Academia360 File Photo)

‘Education system is being destroyed’, say students

A student from Chawri Bazar in Delhi, present at the protest, preparing for a national-level entrance exam, said:

“We need a better education system. I am here to protest against the paper leaks, the way the system is running at this point. The way papers are made and leaked. even if Dharmendra Pradhan were to give an exam, he would have understood the pain of students.”

An UPSC aspirant, Tushar from Noida, said that the education system being destroyed in this way, amid the irregularities, is not fair. He says education is the pillar of a democracy and a means for people to move forward in their lives.

“When the system is being destroyed, we have to raise our voice," the UPSC aspirant adds.

Aditi, a 19-year-old student of IP College for Women, said the paper leaks are the main reason for the demonstration. She highlighted the fact that the students are very “frustrated” with the government and the way it's functioning.

“Board exams there is mismanagement, then there is a security breach with JEE, leaks in NEET. When you go to central universities there are no proper facilities. When you go for jobs there are paper leaks. This protest is a culmination of the youth frustration," the student from IP college added.

Another SSC aspirant from Faridabad said that the online movement started on social media. They joined the protest today to “testify to the satire movement” and demand Pradhan’s resignation.

CJP protest at Jantar Mantar. (Image: Academia360)

Wangchuk joins CJP protest

Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had expressed support for the protest, stated that he would undertake a six-week fast if Dipke is arrested. Wangchuk has joined the students' protest to support them.

"HOPE FOR THE BEST, PREPARE FOR THE WORST. Let’s make this the most peaceful movement in India's history. Please be vigilant that no miscreants play mischief," Wangchuk posted on his official X account.

CJP: Why was it created?

The CJP was founded on 16 May 2026 by Dipke, a political communications strategist who formerly worked with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). It emerged in response to remarks made by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, on 15 May 2026, in which he compared unemployed youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites of society."

The controversy over Kant's comments fueled growing attention around the CJP, which transformed an insult into a rallying cry. Kant later clarified that his remarks were directed at people with fraudulent degrees, but by then, the internet had already responded massively.