A 10-year-old daughter was the reason Rahul Dayalu, an engineer from Mysuru, travelled to Bengaluru to participate in the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)’s protest at Freedom Park on Sunday. 

“My daughter is 10 years now. I do not want her to face what students who appeared for NEET faced following the irregularities and paper leak. The government needs to be accountable to the youth and the future of this country,” said Mr. Dayalu.

The protest was held in Freedom Park as part of the CJP’s nationwide campaign seeking Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation following irregularities in the NEET examination. 

Mr. Dayalu, who was among nearly 700 people at the protest, said his niece had scored 98% in CBSE and had appeared for NEET expecting a good rank there as well. However, the irregularities devastated her. 

“Like her, there are lakhs of students. Their families are broken seeing their situation. I have seen my niece cry every day since the news broke. The government may conduct the examination again, but what about the mental trauma? What is the guarantee that the examination will go well the next time?” Mr. Dayalu argued. 

Amid tight security and heavy rains, students, unions and supporters who called themselves ‘cockroaches,’ gathered in large numbers as the CJP held its first protest in Bengaluru.

While many said they were there to demand the Union Education Minister’s resignation, others said they saw CJP as a movement reflecting public anger against the government’s agenda, be it politics over religion, corruption or a lack of accountability on multiple issues. 

Sanjeet, from Arunachal Pradesh, who is working in Bengaluru, said he was supporting the CJP protest to show the government that it was high time it took accountability and to send a message that the youth cannot be taken lightly. 

Raising slogans of “No more lies, no more delays, Dharmendra Pradhan, step down today,” CJP members said they would continue protesting until the Minister resigned and would fight every battle against injustice. 

“It started with a single tweet by Abhijeet Dipke, which led to this movement. We are challenging everyone, including the Supreme Court and the CJI, who called us cockroaches,” CJP spokesperson Saurav Das said. 

Sarthak, a student, said that the movement was beyond the NEET paper leak. “It is against the fascist government that has ruled the country for over a decade. The unemployment rate is high. The value of the rupee is falling, but all the Prime Minister does is go to other countries and distribute Melody. The movement is a warning from the youth against irregularities in public institutions,” he said. 

He added that he was among the students preparing for police recruitment examinations but had continued to face recruitment delays. He has now moved from Patna to Bengaluru to work at a startup. 

“It is raining. We all could have chosen to stay at home and be safe. But if we choose that privilege, it will come back to bite us soon. The government has sold this country,” said Aarti B., a student.

She added that she was also at the protest over issues including environmental threats, the use of agencies such as the ED against political opponents, and the need for a free media.

The protesters also raised slogans, saying they would begin their resistance by standing up against communal forces.