Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convener Saurav Das on Monday (October 12, 2026) said the government’s decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a protest site is “unacceptable”, and they “do not accept this arbitrary decision”.

Anti-CEC protests: October 12, 2026

The remarks came as Delhi Police denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated site for protests and named three new spots for holding such demonstrations, according to an official order.

“Unacceptable. Why is Narendra Modi scared of Jantar Mantar?” Mr. Das said in a post on X.

“The Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India? Were any stakeholders consulted? Were any organisations consulted?” he said.

Attacking the Prime Minister, he said that said soon the government would denotify India as a democracy.

“Take it in writing — just how they are denotifying people’s Jantar Mantar, the prime minister will soon denotify democracy in India. This move is a step towards that,” Mr. Das said.

“We do not accept this arbitrary decision. It is an assault on people’s fundamental right to protest and peaceful assembly. Now the whole country is becoming Jantar Mantar,” he said.

Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar issued the standing order on October 11, naming Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as the new designated sites for protests and demonstrations.

The move comes amid heightened security arrangements in the national capital following calls to gather for protests at Jantar Mantar. PTI AO SKY

A glimpse at India’s recent history suggests that while some protest movements became successful political parties, others did not. The success of the recent youth movement started by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) should not be judged by whether it would become a successful political party nor by its forcing the former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. Rather, the success of the CJP movement should be judged by the enthusiastic participation of young students for a cause which concerned them; the success of which has raised confidence in them.

They now believe that they can make the government hear their voices even if it is raised from a non-political platform.

Movements to parties

Very often the success of a movement is judged by not only what the movement was able to achieve but whether it was able to become a successful political party or not. The 1979 student’s agitation in Assam led by the All Assam Students Union transformed into a successful political party, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which formed the government in 1985 in Assam. The India against corruption movement also transformed into a political party — the Aam Adami Party (AAP) which came to power in Delhi for the first time in 2013. Not only did the India against corruption movement draw large support, the AAP also enjoyed massive electoral gains; it won 67 and 62 seats out of a total of 70 Assembly seats in Delhi with a 54.3% and 53.5% vote share during the 2015 and 2020 Assembly elections respectively.

The AAP also formed a government in Punjab in 2022. 

In the success story of both the AGP and AAP, the youth played an important role. During the 2015 Assembly elections, the AAP’s vote share among young voters (18-22 years of age) was 63%, almost 10% higher compared to its average vote share. The AAP went on to draw 60% of the votes among young voters (18-22 years) during the 2020 Assembly elections as well — 7% higher compared to its average vote share.

If the CJP does turn into a political party, there is hardly any doubt that the new party will attract young voters, as has been the case with other newly formed parties. The newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-turned politician C. Joseph Vijay, formed the government in Tamil Nadu in the very first election it contested in 2026, replacing the two established formations mainly the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The youth played a very important role in the victory of the TVK. While the overall vote share of the TVK was 34.9%, its share among young voters (18-22) was significant at nearly 70%.

Nationally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an advantage among young voters, its vote share being 4% higher amongst voters in the age group of 18-22 years. Therefore, the rise of the CJP may affect the BJP more than any other party.

But the question remains, can the CJP attract young voters across the country?

Strong challengers

There have also been successful social movements which have failed as political parties. The movement for a separate State of Uttarakhand resulted in the formation of a new State and a new political party, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). However, it failed to make an electoral impact. During the 2002 election, which was the first election held after the formation of Uttarakhand, the UKD polled only 5.4% votes and won just four Assembly seats. There have been similar groups which have led protest movements, demanding Statehood and the like, but most of them could not become successful political parties.

However, there have been movements led by the youth, with the participation of larger social communities, which resulted in a change of the national government. The Jayaprakash Narayan led anti-emergency movement of 1977 dethroned the powerful Indira Gandhi-led government. Similarly, the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare contributed to the defeat of the Congress-led coalition government in 2014.

It should be of no concern whether the CJP becomes a political party or not as the movement has already been able to achieve some noticeable milestones. It emphasised that issues take importance and not leaders as this movement was largely leaderless without the active support of any political party.

It also gave a large number of people the hope that their voices can be heard if they come together in a sustained manner. 

Sanjay Kumar is Professor and election analyst. Views expressed are personal.

It would not be surprising if the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) captures power in one or two States, according to former Union Minister for Finance and Home Affairs, P. Chidambaram.

“But I do not know and cannot say whether it [the CJP] will be able to emerge as a third force at the all-India level,” Mr. Chidambaram told The Hindu 360, the Tamil YouTube channel of The Hindu, at his residence in Chennai on Wednesday (August 26, 2026).

Answering a question about whether the CJP would become a third force at the national level, the former Union Minister referred to the fledgling party’s campaign under the banner ‘School Thik Karo’, focusing on the condition of government schools, and acknowledged the impact of the organisation’s drive on the powers that be. The campaign had made those in power “awake.” Announcements were being made about allocating funds to set right government schools. “Why should Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers go to university campuses every day? [In the past,] when they visited colleges and universities for convocations, did they go around them?” he wondered. He added that “when a stone is thrown, it causes a ripple effect, doesn’t it?”

Giving the example of Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), Mr. Chidambaram pointed out that it was the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) that led to the birth of the AGP, which captured power in Assam for the first time in 1985. Besides, in Nepal, leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) Balendra Shah, popularly called Balen, had become Prime Minister thanks to an agitation by Gen Z.

To another question on whether irregularities in public examinations were the only factor responsible for the recent youth agitation, the former Union Minister, who would turn 81 on September 16, referred to an editorial by The Hindu [’Root causes: On India’s youth crisis’] and said: “I wholly accept it.” The irregularities were only “a consequence.” But unemployment and lack of income were the reasons. “When I was a student, people believed that graduates would receive a four-digit salary – ₹1,000 – which was a huge sum in those days. Those who took public examinations then would get government jobs. But today, even if you write the examinations, you do not get jobs,” Mr. Chidambaram observed. The unemployed included those who had finished engineering and medical courses and students of the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management.

‘Paper leak was waiting to happen’

On the paper leak in this year’s National Entrance cum Eligibility Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) held by the National Testing Agency (NTA), he said that “it was waiting to happen,” considering the small number of permanent employees in the NTA and the fact that the test had to be held throughout the country, covering thousands of centres.

Asked whether the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which had been rendered virtually friendless after the 2026 Assembly election, would inch closer towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr. Chidambaram answered that “there is no chance of that. If they [the DMK] did so, they would be causing a self-inflicted injury.” He also pointed out that on the issue of delimitation, the party had supported a resolution in the Assembly [urging the Centre to freeze the number of Lok Sabha seats at the existing 543 and retain the current proportion of seats among the States], despite “conflicting voices” being heard earlier.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday announced a fresh organisational expansion, appointing five joint secretaries and two national spokespersons and constituting coordination committees for its north, west and east zones amid its ongoing ‘School Theek Karo’ campaign across States.

It has also launched a legal aid website for its volunteers and supporters, the outfit said in an official statement.

Rekha Sharma, Akshay Shinde, Prem Aakash, Anam Uzzama and Balakrishna Shukla have been appointed as the organisation’s joint secretaries while Sudhir Sangwan and Siddhant Bhardwaj have been named national spokespersons.

The newly constituted zonal coordination committees for the east (16 members), west (10 members) and north (17 members) zones will be responsible for strengthening the outfit’s field-level activities, coordinating across regions and building a network of local leadership. The outfit said the appointments were aimed at ensuring that the concerns of ordinary citizens are represented more effectively.

“Through these dedicated teams, we are taking our mission directly to the grassroots. Our aim is to build a stronger movement for the common people, strengthen local leadership and create a nation where every voice matters,” the CJP said in its announcement.

It added that its national working committee members would visit southern and north-eastern States in the coming weeks, following which the respective zonal coordination committees would be announced. The national working committee members include founder and convener Abhijeet Dipke, and co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who led the protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

Legal aid for volunteers and supporters

Separately, the CJP has launched a nationwide legal aid platform, www.cjplegalaid.com, for its volunteers and supporters. The platform, launched by its legal affairs head Ratna Singh, allows users to register legal problems, provide their location and seek assistance from verified lawyers.

The platform also has an emergency option for cases involving arrest or detention, which alerts available lawyers and the outfit’s coordination team. The CJP said the identities of users would remain private unless they chose to disclose them, with encrypted communication and secure document storage. The service is available in multiple Indian languages and is free of cost, the outfit said in the press release.

Amid the sea of students and placards at Jantar Mantar, some of the youngest faces were children barely two years old, perched on their parents’ shoulders or walking while clutching their fingers.

For many parents, joining the protest was both an act of defiance and a demand for a better future for their children.

On Saturday evening, after news broke of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, Salman, 35, arrived at the protest site with his three children, the youngest a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter.

“We were following the movement but couldn’t come as we have three children. Today, when we heard he had resigned, we rushed here to celebrate,” Mr. Salman said, as a protester distributed “Melody” chocolates to the children.

He added that his eldest son had urged them to attend. “Paper leak nahi hona chahiye,” said Mohammad Saad, 11.

Similar scenes were witnessed on earlier days as well.

Around 11 p.m. on Friday, Kanchan, 34, a make-up artist from Karol Bagh, came with her three-year-old son, dressed as a doctor with a stethoscope around his neck.

“It is my second day here. We are here for the future of our children. We can tell them that students endured lathi-charge for them,” she said.

“We can also tell them that they were part of it. When people see small children here, they may also step out,” she added. “After July 20, we felt we should come. We felt very bad.”

Her neighbour, Monika Shersiya, 39, who joined after seeing them, came with her two-year-old son, Sam, dressed as Mahatma Gandhi.

“I came with my child so that what is happening to these students does not happen to him. The government does not seem to care even if people die,” she said.

She added that they had been at the site for four hours and her son was getting restless. “After seeing videos of students being beaten, including with lathis with nails, we had to come,” she said.

On Thursday, Sarfaraz Khan, 47, a tailor from Burari, came with his two-year-old son, Zorin, in his arms.

“We have supported the movement from the start, but this is our first time here. This is for the students who died and for the future of our children,” he said.

Mr. Khan, who studied up to Class IX, said that if he did not stand with the protesting students now, no one would stand with his children in the future.

With a nationwide protest call on Friday, Delhi University on Thursday evening asked its students to “stay away from Jantar Mantar” and prioritise safety and compliance with the law. The advisory comes amid criticism from students and teachers after the university and some colleges backed the government’s actions.

In a post on X, the university said unlawful assemblies at Jantar Mantar, which are strictly regulated as per Supreme Court directives, may invite legal action, and urged students to avoid the area. “Such activities can also pose serious risks to students’ personal safety and significantly impact their academic progress and professional opportunities,” it added.

Earlier, the university had said “vested interests” were exploiting students’ fears, while some college principals expressed support for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Students and faculty members said these responses reflect a “familiar playbook”.

In a post on Wednesday, Delhi University said it recognised students’ pain and anxiety but added that “vested interests” were exploiting their fears instead of easing them.Soon after, Shyam Lal College and Shaheed Bhagat Singh College posted messages backing Mr. Pradhan, praising his role in driving education reforms under the NEP.

On Thursday, the university welcomed the government’s decision to set up fast-track courts for paper leak cases and urged activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his fast in the interest of students.

Parichay, a second-year law student, said principals were “not realising that students’ frustrations have gone beyond campus” and added that the administration had “lost credibility”. Another student, Kanikshka Jinwal, said she did not see a future for herself in the country and that authorities appeared indifferent to students, including those injured during the violence.

With the new academic session set to begin on July 28, discussions around the protests have intensified within colleges. “They have no academic grounds to justify such posts on official handles meant for admission and administrative information,” said Rajesh Jha, a professor at Rajdhani College. Arun Kumar Attree, Principal of Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, said the administration backed the government after interacting with students, citing unrest on campus and lack of awareness about the steps being taken.

The Delhi police on Tuesday registered four FIRs against unknown individuals for rioting, assault on public servants, damage to public property and other offences during Monday’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Anand Kumar Mishra said there is an ongoing investigation into whether the entire violence was “premeditated and executed in an organised, coordinated” manner. “We have documented the protest through videography and are examining CCTV footage, mobile phone recordings, drone images and footage from body-worn cameras to identify those involved,” Mr. Mishra told mediapersons.

Seeking clarity on the action taken by Delhi Police, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma demanding that a list of FIRs and the names of people detained be made public immediately.

Comparing what transpired at Jantar Mantar on Monday to the action taken by General Dyer at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919, Mr. Kejriwal while addressing a press conference said, “The police have brutally beaten students without any provocation and fired tear-gas shells. Such brutality was not even unleashed by the British against freedom fighters.”

Later addressing those who continued to protest at Jantar Mantar, the former Chief Minister said the police have foisted false cases against students. “[Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is trying to call protesters terrorists. I want to tell you that the biggest terrorist is Modi. Modi is calling you anti-national but the biggest anti-national is Modi, for playing with the future of students,” he said.

Mr. Kejriwal’s demand for a list of those detained gains significance, with several people frantically looking for their friends and family members a day after the police thwarted the march to Parliament by resorting to lathi-charge and tear gas to disperse those gathered.

‘Lathi charge, tear gas’

Sharing details of what transpired, All India Students’ Association (AISA) said at a press conference that thousands of slippers, torn clothes and blood spatter could be seen across Jantar Mantar. The panel included Neha, Ameen and Manish who fasted for 23 days, as well as protesters who were injured during Monday’s protest.

Anjali, Delhi University AISA unit secretary, said, “Yesterday, across central Delhi – Sansad Marg, Connaught Place, Palika Bazaar – there were barricades every 200 to 250 metres. Protesters were trapped in cramped spaces with barricades on both sides. They then [police] lobbed tear gas shells and beat protesters with lathis.”

Tanvi, a student and AISA activist, said, “Not only college students but also parents and school students who joined the protest in their uniforms were beaten.” She added, “The march itself was peaceful. The ruckus was created.”

with inputs from Ashna Butani

Several people detained by the police on Monday were picked up from locations away from the protest site at Sansad Marg, families and lawyers have alleged.

Among them was a 55-year-old man who was detained from Connaught Place. His family said he was not part of the protest and had reached the area unaware of his surroundings due to a medical condition. “He suffers from episodes that cause memory loss and delusions,” his wife, a resident of Delhi Gate, said while waiting outside the Mandir Marg police station.

“Some of those brought to Mandir Marg were not even at the protest site. They were picked up from areas near the Pracheen Hanuman Mandir in C.P. The 55-year-old was one of them,” said advocate Vertika Mani Tripathi.

According to the woman, her husband had left home on Monday afternoon, saying he was going for namaz, but did not return. “We got a call around 11.30 p.m. informing us that he had been detained,” she said, adding that her husband stopped working three years ago due to his illness.

The woman said she was allowed to meet him briefly at the police station around 2 a.m. to hand over his medicines. “I waited till 4 a.m. and returned on Tuesday afternoon for his release,” she said.

Mass detentions

Police detained over 70 people on Monday and lodged them in lock-ups in North West and New Delhi districts. On Tuesday, around 60 detainees from the North West district were produced before a court and subsequently released. Those brought to Mandir Marg police station were mostly students in the 18–25 age group, according to people present there.

“All were eventually released after some procedural delay,” said a law student who had come to secure a friend’s release.

All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Wednesday announced a campaign ‘Cockroaches on the streets’, where they will be campaigning across locations in Delhi for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid controversies and irregularities in the conduct of examinations.

The poster for the campaign comes days after AISA joined a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has called itself a ‘political movement’. While AISA has not declared its support for the party yet, it has said it is in solidarity with the cause of the protests being conducted by the CJP which are asking for the resignation of the Education Minister.

The CJP is conducting nationwide protests from June 11, starting with a protest in Pune. Its first protest was held in Delhi at Jantar Mantar last weekend. AISA’s campaign will also kick off on June 11 and continue till June 18. The campaigning, which will include distribution of pamphlets and speaking to students about their concerns, will take place in areas such as Delhi University’s North Campus, Hauz Khas, Mukherjee Nagar among other areas.

Meanwhile, Joint Forum for Movement on Education (JFME), which represents teachers, students, parents, from multiple universities and colleges, conducted a press conference in Delhi on Wednesday, calling for the resignation of the Education Minister, dismantling the NTA, rolling back the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, and complete physical re-evaluation of CBSE Class 12 answer sheets without any extra charges.

“In the wake of these catastrophic failures, the government’s response has been nothing short of an insulting charade. Instead of accepting and addressing the deep systemic rot, officials have vehemently denied or offered tokenistic damage control, sacrificing low-level scapegoats and ordering re-evaluation or re-tests, leaving the corrupt foundation completely intact,” read a statement issued by the JFME.