New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which held a protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Saturday led by its founder Abhijeet Dipke, has warned of a nationwide agitation if Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is not removed from office or does not resign within seven days.
The group demanded the minister’s resignation, alleging irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, and said the movement would expand across the country if their demand was not met.
Addressing a press conference, CJP spokespersons Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das said the protest had drawn participants from several states and marked the beginning of a broader youth-led movement focused on education and governance issues.
Formed as an online campaign in May, the CJP has reportedly gained over 22 million followers on Instagram and had called on young people to join the protest in Delhi as a show of strength over alleged irregularities in the education system.
“We are giving the government seven days. Either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign respectfully, or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him. If his resignation does not come within seven days, this movement will spread throughout the country,” Ranka said.
He added that organisers were receiving messages of support from various states, with groups expressing readiness to hold peaceful demonstrations, and said the campaign would pause for a week before deciding its next course of action.
Describing the turnout as significant, Ranka said the protest reflected growing youth engagement in issues affecting education and governance.
“June 6, 2026, will be written in history because today the politics of this country has completely changed,” he said, claiming that young people who were often discouraged from street protests had come together peacefully.
The organisers projected the demonstration as a youth-driven movement and described it as a response to concerns over the education system, asserting that reforms were urgently needed.
“The time has come to reset our education system, and we have started that reset today,” Ranka said, adding that removal of the education minister was essential for meaningful reforms.
“Until this education minister is there, we will not be able to improve the education system of this country,” he said.
While maintaining that the resignation demand remained the immediate priority, Ranka said the movement would continue beyond the issue, highlighting wider concerns affecting students.
“This is just the beginning. There are so many problems of the youth of this country,” he added.
Responding to questions on whether the mobilisation was a protest, movement, or political platform, Ranka described it as a “platform for the youth,” a “collective for the youth,” and a “movement for the youth,” while leaving its future direction open.
The organisers rejected claims of affiliation with any established political party, describing themselves as “pro-youth, pro-education, pro-Constitution and pro-India.”
Ranka also claimed that turnout exceeded expectations and said the protest remained peaceful despite large crowds.
“It was such a huge crowd, and yet it remained a very, very peaceful protest. Maybe one of the most peaceful protests the country has seen in a while,” he said, adding that “the Gen Z and the youth of this country have Gandhi and Ambedkar in their blood.”
Saurav Das said participants had come from several states including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and the Northeast, and claimed that large numbers had also supported the campaign online through petitions seeking the minister’s resignation.
Asked whether they would submit a formal representation or seek a meeting with the minister, Ranka said, “Why doesn’t he just resign,” while Das added that several student groups had already written to the ministry but received no response.
“The youth wants to talk, but when the government is not talking, that is when they are getting on the road,” Das said.
He also thanked Delhi Police for facilitating the demonstration and ensuring it remained peaceful.
The protest was called by Abhijeet Dipke, who runs a satirical online account under the name Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), amid demands for accountability over issues in the education sector. Earlier in the day, Dipke had urged the minister to resign by 5 pm, before organisers announced the seven-day ultimatum.
With PTI inputs