Seeking Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, CJP to launch protest today

What began as a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar last Sunday on June 6 is now set to expand into a nationwide agitation, with Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the movement born out of social media, announcing demonstrations across multiple cities from June 11 and warning of an indefinite sit-in in the national capital if union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not resign.

In a statement, issued on Wednesday, the group said the next phase of its campaign will begin in Pune on June 11, before spreading to cities including Lucknow, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Hyderabad. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also said in a post on X that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk would join the Pune protest.

The announcement comes days after the organisation held a protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6, where students and young people from different parts of the country gathered to demand accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and sought Pradhan's resignation.

Positioning itself as a movement to defend the integrity of education system, the CJP has called on students, parents, teachers and citizens to join what it described as a nationwide struggle for justice.

The organisation has gained visibility in recent weeks through social media campaigns focused on examination-related issues and has sought to establish itself as a youth-led platform advocating reforms in the education sector.

Organisers had earlier described the June 6 mobilisation as the starting point of a broader campaign. Wednesday's announcement provided the clearest outline yet of that strategy, with protests planned across several states and a warning that the agitation could culminate in an indefinite sit-in at Jantar Mantar from June 20 if their demand for the education minister's resignation remains unmet.