Indian Anti-Government Youth Movement 'Cockroach Janta Party' Protests Exam Cheating

(Central News Agency, New Delhi, 6th, Comprehensive Foreign News) Hundreds of young Indian students gathered in the capital New Delhi on the 6th to participate in the first street protest organized by the satirical political party 'Cockroach Janta Party', protesting against cheating scandals in several recent major national exams.

According to AFP, protesters wearing paper cockroach masks and holding leaflets demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan has faced criticism over several irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical failures in some exams.

The protest was led by 30-year-old Abhijeet Dipke, a graduate of Boston University in the United States. He was formerly a political propaganda strategist for the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). In May of this year, he announced the creation of the 'Cockroach Janta Party' on social media, a name satirically mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which attracted millions of followers upon launch.

Dipke, who had just returned to New Delhi from the US, told supporters at the protest site, 'The youth of India will no longer fear anyone; they will fight. ... Cockroaches are never afraid, and they never die.' The crowd echoed his sentiments.

The movement was sparked by reports that India's Chief Justice, Surya Kant, had compared young people criticizing the government to 'cockroaches' and 'parasites' during a court hearing, igniting anger among the youth. Kant later said his remarks were taken out of context.

The Cockroach Janta Party's Instagram account now has over 22 million followers, more than double the 9 million followers of the BJP and also surpassing the 13 million followers of the largest opposition party, the Indian National Congress.

One of India's most competitive national exams, the medical school 'National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)', was found by investigators to have had a question paper leak this year, leading authorities to cancel the exam in May. However, Indian media reported that several teenagers had committed suicide after failing the exam.

Public discontent has been further fueled by another major testing scandal in India, where an online grading system for an exam taken by nearly 2 million high school students showed multiple irregularities.

Despite rapid economic growth in the world's most populous country, millions of people struggle to find stable, well-paying jobs, fueling discontent among the younger generation.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the unemployment rate for Indians aged 15-24 is approximately 16%.