NEW DELHI, 20 July 2026 (Agencies) – Tens of thousands of young demonstrators under the banner of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) attempted to march towards India’s parliament on Monday, demanding reforms to the education system and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest, one of the largest youth-led mobilisations in recent years, saw crowds spilling out of Jantar Mantar into central Delhi streets as the monsoon session of parliament was under way. Police and paramilitary forces erected barricades and deployed water cannons, while clashes broke out in several areas. Protesters alleged baton charges, with medical teams treating head injuries and fractures at the site.
The spotlight on the movement intensified after activist Sonam Wangchuk was forcibly hospitalised on Saturday, the 21st day of his hunger strike in support of the CJP. His wife said he continues to fast in hospital. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also began a hunger strike but ended it after appeals from families of students who allegedly died by suicide following exam cancellations.
Despite its satirical name, the CJP is not a political party but a student-led collective formed in May after widespread anger over exam paper leaks. The group adopted the “cockroach” symbol after India’s Chief Justice controversially used the term to describe unemployed youth, later withdrawn. The label has since become a rallying cry of resilience.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said he and another representative met Union Health Minister JP Nadda briefly to submit demands. “He has assured us that he will meanwhile speak internally to members of the government,” Das wrote on X.
Security has been tightened around parliament, with metro stations closed and barricades set up along protest routes. Several opposition leaders joined the march, while protesters confronted journalists they accused of working for pro-government media.
The protest marks one of the biggest public displays of dissent in the capital against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in recent years, drawing comparisons to past anti-corruption and farmers’ movements.