Thousands of Cockroach party protesters defy police by marching in Delhi

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party push against a barricade as they attempt to march to India's parliament on Monday. Photograph: Shekhar Yadav/AP View image in fullscreen Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party push against a barricade as they attempt to march to India's parliament on Monday. Photograph: Shekhar Yadav/AP Thousands of Cockroach party protesters defy police by marching in Delhi Youth-led movement calls on education minister to quit in one of India’s largest anti-government rallies in years Thousands of protesters defied police orders and descended on Delhi to demand the resignation of India’s education minister in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years. A huge crowd, largely made up of students and gen Zs, filled the streets in the heart of India’s capital from early Monday morning shouting anti-government slogans, while hundreds had already camped out overnight. Delhi police, which are under the control of the central government, had denied permission for the march to take place. A ban was imposed on all public gatherings, roads across the city were barricaded and the internet was shut down in the centre. Attempts by protesters to move towards the parliament building were met with police brutality including the use of batons and teargas. However, this did little to prevent protesters turning out in their thousands, many of whom were vocal in their anger at Narendra Modi’s government and his ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), accusing them of failing the country’s young people. “They are calling this protest illegal, they are calling us anti-national,” said Rhythm Katoch. “But I am 22 years old and I am standing here to fight for our education system, for the rights of the young people and for our democracy. Is it too much to ask for the government to listen to us?” View image in fullscreen The protesters were vocal in their anger at Narendra Modi’s government and his ruling Bharatiya Janata party. Photograph: Shekhar Yadav/AP A call had been made to march on parliament by the Cockroach Janta party (CJP), a new youth-led political movement. While the CJP began as satire, founded by the graduate Abhijeet Dipke in May, it has swiftly mobilised into one of the strongest youth-led movements in India . Its core demand has been the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over exam chaos, after this year’s medical entrance exam – where more than 2 million students compete for just 130,000 places – was again leaked to the highest bidder, forcing it to be scrapped and for students to face retaking the gruelling tests. The fiasco has been linked to more than 20 suicides. Wider frustrations over alleged failures in the education system and a lack of job opportunities for India’s youth have also mobilised support. Rage was palpable on Delhi’s streets on Monday. Harion Sharma, 18, was among those forced to retake the medical exam last month after it was leaked, which he said had put “unbearable” pr