India Bans CJP March on Parliament

Indian authorities have banned a planned march to Parliament by supporters of the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), setting the stage for a potential standoff as activists demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The movement has gained significant traction, with over 22 million followers on Instagram and widespread support from students and activists across India.

The ban comes amid ongoing tensions surrounding social activist Sonam Wangchuk, who remains hospitalized against his will after being forcibly removed from a protest site where he had been on a hunger strike for over three weeks. His wife has petitioned the court to transfer him to a private hospital, but her request was denied.

The Delhi High Court endorsed the government's decision to keep Wangchuk in state-run Safdarjung Hospital, citing medical necessity and stable vital signs despite altered blood parameters. According to Reuters, Judge Mini Pushkarna stated that doctors had administered only oral fluids and supplements with Wangchuk’s consent, adding: “It cannot be said that any force is being used against Mr Sonam Wangchuk or that his bodily autonomy is being violated in any manner whatsoever.”

Wangchuk, 59, had been fasting since June 28 in solidarity with the CJP. The campaign has drawn widespread support and emerged as a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Gitanjali Angmo, Wangchuk’s wife, expressed her concerns on social media platform X, stating that despite repeated requests, the hospital refused to discharge him or allow his transfer. She described the situation as “illegal detention” disguised as medical care due to the heavy police presence restricting their movement.

The CJP plans to march to Parliament on Monday, the first day of its latest session, to press its demands. Police have denied permission for the march, citing strict security arrangements in place for the commencement of the parliament session from July 20. The Cockroach Janta Party has stated that the march will go ahead as planned.

Hundreds of supporters of India's youth-led 'cockroach' movement gathered in New Delhi on Monday to march on Parliament, seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan despite police denying permission for the protest. The months-old movement and the planned protest is seen as the biggest public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term in office, gaining millions of supporters on social media and mobilizing support on the ground.

Scores of police and paramilitary security personnel were deployed at the heavily barricaded site, threatening a standoff a few kilometers from Parliament if the protesters seek to go ahead with their march. 'Quit, quit,' the protesters chanted. 'Dharmendra Pradhan quit', 'Narendra Modi quit,' they chanted in Hindi referring to the education minister as well as the prime minister.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement began after national medical school entrance test papers were leaked in May, affecting more than 2 million students as it forced them to write the test a second time. 'All these leaders in power are illiterate and I am here to protest because we do not want question papers to leak,' said Adi Nathan, 21, a student from Meerut city.

In a handwritten note from hospital posted on his X account on Monday, Wangchuk said he would end his fast if the government takes accountability for recent failures in the education system and for paper leaks, or if CJP protesters are allowed to reach Parliament and lawmakers assure them that the issues would be taken up in the chambers.

The rise of the CJP reflects frustrations among young Indians over issues like high youth unemployment and frequent examination paper leaks. Unemployment in 2025 stood at 3.1% among those aged 15 and above, government data shows, but in the bracket from 15 to 29 it was much higher, at 9.9%, and higher in urban areas, at 13.6%, than the 8.3% figure in rural regions.