After Pune flop show, Cockroach Janta Party protests in Lucknow, to head to Amritsar next

After its recent protest in Pune, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is set to continue its protests in various parts of the country. The CJP, an online political movement born out of controversial remarks attributed to CJI Surya Kant, is seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak and alleged irregularities in the CBSE's on-screen marking (OSM) system.

The CJP demonstration in Lucknow began at 11 am at the Eco Garden. The Uttar Pradesh police granted CJP permission for a protest at Eco Garden in Lucknow. Previously, the Lucknow Police denied permission for a proposed rally due to alleged non-cooperation from organisers and their failure to engage with authorities despite repeated attempts.

"I have come for the protest. We have seen peaceful protests in Delhi and Pune, wherein we put forth our demands for the resignation of the education minister. Tomorrow (Friday) also we are going to do just that in a peaceful and constitutional manner," Dipke told mediapersons outside Lucknow airport late Thursday night.

After this protest, the CJP will hold demonstrations in Amritsar (June 13), Hyderabad (June 14), Bangalore (June 15), and Jaipur (June 15), before concluding its demonstrations in New Delhi on June 20.

CJP Pune protest a flop show?

The CJP protest at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) drew a gathering of around 300-400 students, according to media reports. This number is way lower than their social media follower count.

The Cockroach Janta Party boasts of 22.7 million followers on Instagram and 276,500 followers on X. Despite commanding nearly 2.3 crore followers on Instagram and X, the CJP's protest in Pune drew only 300-400 students. This implies that 0.0013-0.0017% of its online following turned up on the ground, i.e., around one attendee for every 57,000-76,000 followers.

Inside CJP's 'exam manifesto'

At its Pune protest, the CJP unveiled its 'exam manifesto', also known as the 'Roachmap', with 5 main demands. These were ₹10,000 paper leak commission per student, mandatory backup exam day within 72 hours, paper checking for paper exams, automatic age limit extension for delayed exams or results, and mandatory tech and tender audit.