India’s ‘Cockroach’ Youth Group Plans Protest Against Modi, Calls for Education Minister’s Resignation

Founder Abhijeet Dipke said nearly 800,000 students have signed a petition seeking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

The Cockroach Janta Party has tapped into the concerns of the under-30s, who are estimated to make up more than half of India’s 1.42 billion population, over politics, unemployment and inflation.

Founder Abhijeet Dipke, based in the US, has focused on recent leaks of exam papers and errors in marking final-year school exams that threaten to derail the careers of millions of students.

“I will be returning to India to demand the resignation of the education minister,” Dipke said on his personal account on X, urging young people to join a peaceful protest in Delhi and “exercise our constitutional right to seek accountability from the government.”

The CJP’s rapid rise marks one of the largest online expressions of dissent against Modi’s 12-year rule, and analysts say it could dent his image despite recent state election victories.

Government data shows that for those aged between 15 and 29, unemployment was 9.9% last year, more than triple the overall rate of 3.1%.