Plates, Spoons, And Cockroach Masks: Inside CJP’s Protest In Delhi

By early afternoon on June 20, Jantar Mantar had begun to sound less like a protest site and more like a metallic chorus. The clanging of steel plates struck with spoons cut through the humid 40 degree Celsius Delhi air. Slogans like,“Inquilab Zindabad”, “Jai Bheem”, “Vande Mataram”, and “Go Pradhan Go”, rose intermittently through the day.

On a modest stage, beneath a banner reading “Peaceful Protest” and “Dharmendra Pradhan Must Resign,” portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar looked out over a mixed crowd of students, parents, and elderly supporters.

This was the second on-ground protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Delhi, demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and calling for broader reforms in India’s education system. A stage had been set up, barricades marked the protest area, and volunteers moved between the crowd and the organisers, coordinating the programme.

The protest drew support from student organisations such as the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), alongside climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, touting that the mobilisation is meant for something beyond its original online base.

Members of the CJP, student unions and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk addressed the crowd. (Image Credit: Tej Bahadur Singh)

Symbolism And Satire

A day earlier, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had urged supporters to arrive with plates and spoons. By afternoon, hundreds had.

The plate-banging carried both symbolism and satire. It echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2020 call for citizens to bang utensils in solidarity with frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic—an act Dipke referenced from the stage.

“There was a supposed scientific study that the banging noise could kill the coronavirus. Now we have a virus called Dharmendra Pradhan in our education system that has to be removed,” he said, adding that the group was open to talks with the government if the minister stepped down.

Posters, banners, and cockroach masks circulated through the crowd. Placards read “Sack Union Education Minister”, “No To Paper Leaks”, “Disband NTA”, and “Why So Silent Pradhan?”

From memes to slogans, the protest saw vibrant posters. (Image Credit: Tej Bahadur Singh)

A large poster on stage displayed the faces of 12 students reported to have died by suicide in the 48 hours preceding the NEET retest.

Amid the fluttering tricolour and ‘Jai Bheem’ flags at the Jantar Mantar, the gesture was repurposed to draw attention to what participants described as a different crisis: repeated paper leaks, disputed exam processes, and a lack of institutional accountability.

Exams, Errors, And Erosion Of Trust

That sense of crisis did not emerge overnight. The immediate trigger for the mobilisation has been the ongoing controversy surrounding the NEET examination, which has, over the past months, come under scrutiny following allegations of leaks and mismanagement.

Decode had earlier documented how more than 20 lakh students were made to sit for an exam that had already been compromised, even as authorities introduced layers of surveillance—from frisking to AI-enabled monitoring—at centres across the country. The measures, while framed as safeguards, did little to address the core breach as the paper had already circulated before the test was conducted.

The undergraduate medical entrance exam was eventually declared invalid on May 12, nine days after it had already been conducted.

Concerns around exam systems have also surfaced elsewhere, like in the CBSE’s digital evaluation overhaul. Decode spoke to Class 12 students who described being left with little recourse after flagging blurred or unchecked answer sheets, while being given limited windows marred with technical glitches to review them.

Together, these episodes have contributed to a broader sense of uncertainty around high-stakes examinations, where students describe a system that appears tightly controlled, yet repeatedly fails at critical points.

More than 22 lakh students appeared for the NEET re-exam on Sunday. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged candidates to appear without fear, stating that he had full faith in the National Testing Agency (NTA), state governments, and the administrative system.

Students travelled from outside Delhi to Jantar Mantar (Image Credit: Tej Bahadur Singh)

From Viral Post To Protest Site

It is within this backdrop that the Cockroach Janta Party has taken shape.

The party traces its origins to May, following controversial remarks made by India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant during a hearing, where he allegedly compared unemployed young people gravitating towards journalism and activism to “cockroaches” and “parasites”. He later clarified that the comment was directed at individuals with “fake and bogus degrees”, not India’s youth more broadly.

By the time the clarification was issued, Abhijeet Dipke—a U.S.-based Indian and a Boston University public relations graduate—had already posted on X: “What if all cockroaches came together?”

The post quickly gained traction. What followed was the creation of a digital network through a website and Instagram page, which saw a rapid surge in engagement, crossing 22 million followers within days—outpacing the social media footprint of established political parties, including the incumbent BJP.

The platform now serves as the group’s primary channel to share protest calls, videos, and messaging centred on exam-related grievances.

On June 6, Dipke arrived at Jantar Mantar and began a protest calling for Pradhan’s resignation. Despite significant online traction, the turnout that day remained limited, with critics calling it ‘anti-climax’ and ‘directionless’ as the gathering dispersed soon after the permitted hours ended.

In the days that followed, however, the protest travelled. Similar demonstrations were held in Pune, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Hyderabad, before the group returned to Delhi for a larger mobilisation.

CJP’s viral momentum began translating into an on-ground presence. (Image Credit: Tej Bahadur Singh)

A Managed Protest, A Growing Crowd

By the time the protest returned to Jantar Mantar, it appeared more organised.

Volunteers in white T-shirts labelled “Cockroach Marshall” checked IDs at the entrance, regulating movement into the designated protest area. Beyond them, Delhi Police maintained a heavy presence, supported by personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and units of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), stationed across the periphery.

Security arrangements extended beyond visible deployment. Mobile baggage scanners were placed at entry points, while CCTV cameras and drones monitored the crowd from above. Police vans equipped with surveillance systems were stationed nearby, acting as control points to track movement and maintain a live feed of the site.

Barricades marked clear boundaries around the protest zone, with officers positioned at multiple layers to manage the crowd.

Participants, however, described the gathering as reflective of a wider frustration, as they felt their grievances falling on the government's deaf ears.

Miraj, a school drop-out from Delhi who said he had come from Narela, told Decode, “Every Indian is close to me,” when asked if someone personally known to him had been affected by the NEET fiasco.

June, a social activist who had travelled from Assam, said,

“We have so many issues with the country, my neighbouring state Manipur is burning, who will take accountability? This is at least something everybody is being affected by, so let’s start from here.”

From Protest To Indefinite Sit-in

As the day moved towards evening, the tone began to shift from demonstration to defiance.

Around 5 pm, Dipke announced that he and the protesters would not leave until Pradhan resigned, signalling the start of an indefinite sit-in.

Delhi Police issued repeated announcements asking protesters to vacate the site, citing time restrictions. Posters soon came up declaring the gathering “illegal” as it continued beyond the permitted hours, defying Supreme Court’s orders.

Over the blaring loudspeakers, protesters intensified the plate-banging, shouting “Go Pradhan Go”. When the stage microphones were cut off, organisers switched to handheld speakers to address the crowd.

“I am a law-abiding citizen. We follow Gandhi and Ambedkar. You are warning us that the time for protest is over. Who will tell Pradhan that 12 students died in 48 hours and that their ministry’s time is ought to be over,” Dipke said, addressing the police.

“Give us another site, we will protest there. We want justice and accountability. We are not here for politics.”

As many began to leave on the authority’s behest, a smaller group stayed back. By 8 pm, around 150 to 200 people remained at the site. Police began limiting access, stopping people from outside from entering.

Updates shared on the group’s social media later showed protesters staying overnight. Past midnight, some danced to music while others sat in small groups discussing politics and the exam system. According to Dipke, access to water and electricity was also cut, which he described as protesters being “treated as terrorists”.

The protesters refused to budge even as the authorities warned. (Image Credit: Tej Bahadur Singh) 

By Sunday morning, people had begun gathering again. The sit-in continued into Monday, with Dipke and student groups maintaining their presence at the site.

According to media reports, no FIR has been registered yet, though police indicated that legal action could be considered if the protest continues disregarding the permitted limits.