LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which organised a protest led by its founder Abhijeet Dipke at the Jantar Mantar here on Saturday (June 6, 2026) demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s removal, warned that the agitation would expand across the country if he is not sacked or does not resign voluntarily.

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 movement centred on education and governance issues.

Birthed as an online campaign in May, the CJP, which garnered over 22 million followers on Instagram, had exhorted youths to take part in the protest in the national capital over the issue of alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, in an apparent show of strength.

“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,” Mr. Ranka said.

He said the organisers were receiving messages from supporters in different States expressing readiness to hold peaceful demonstrations, and claimed the group would wait for a week before announcing its next course of action.

Describing the turnout on Saturday (June 6, 2026) as a significant moment, Mr. Ranka said the protest demonstrated that young people were willing to mobilise around issues affecting them.

“June 6, 2026, will be written in history because today the politics of this country has completely changed,” he said, adding that many young people who were often discouraged from taking to the streets had come together for a peaceful demonstration.

The organisers repeatedly projected the protest as a youth-led campaign and sought to frame it as a response to concerns surrounding the education system.

“The time has come to reset our education system, and we have started that reset today,” Mr. Ranka said, asserting that the demand for Pradhan’s resignation was the immediate focus of the movement.

According to him, removing the Education Minister was necessary if meaningful reforms were to be undertaken.

“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 top priority, Mr. Ranka indicated that the campaign would continue beyond that issue.

“This is just the beginning. There are so many problems of the youth of this country,” he said, arguing that concerns relating to education had not received adequate attention.

Asked whether the mobilisation should be viewed as a protest, a movement or a political platform, Ranka described it as “a platform for the youth”, “a collective for the youth” and “a movement for the youth”, while leaving open how it may evolve in the future.

The organisers also rejected suggestions that the mobilisation was linked to any established political formation and described themselves as “pro-youth, pro-education, pro-Constitution and pro-India”.

Mr. Ranka claimed the turnout had exceeded expectations and emphasised that the gathering remained peaceful despite the 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.

“The Gen Z and the youth of this country have Gandhi and Ambedkar in their blood,” he added, thanking participants who had travelled from different parts of the country to attend the event.

Saurav Das said people from several States, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and those in the Northeast, had joined the protest.

He also referred to online support for the campaign, claiming that hundreds of thousands of people had signed petitions seeking the Minister’s resignation.

Asked if they would send any representation to Mr. Pradhan or request a meeting, Mr. Ranka said, “Why doesn’t he just resign.”

Mr. Das said several other student groups have written to the Minister over the issue but have not received any response.

“The youth wants to talk, but when the government is not talking, that is when they are getting on the road,” Mr. Das said.

He also thanked Delhi Police for facilitating the demonstration and said maintaining peace had been a priority for the organisers.

“We are very happy that the Delhi Police’s priority was peaceful demonstration,” he said.

The protest was called by Mr. Dipke, who started the online satirical account of the Cockroach Janta Party, also called ‘CJP’, amid demands for accountability over recent developments in the education sector.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Dipke had urged Mr. Pradhan to step down by 5 p.m., with organisers later announcing the seven-day deadline for action by the minister or the government.

Published – June 06, 2026 10:33 pm IST