Delhi’s ‘Cockroach’ Protesters Rally, Leaders Released After Detention
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a Gen‑Z‑led movement, has revived its protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The party’s name is a callback to a comment by the chief justice that school‑age youths were being treated like “cockroaches” – a remark that the CJP turned into a slogan of resilience.
Founded in May after activist Abhijeet Dipke posted a meme on X, the CJP grew from protests over education reforms into a campaign for electoral‑roll reform. On Saturday, police invaded a march at Jantar Mantar and arrested Dipke, co‑founder Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. The next day a magistrate freed the trio but imposed a one‑year restriction on “breach of peace” and threatened confiscation of property.
Despite the court’s decision, the movement marched again. Roughly 7,000 demonstrators were detained on Saturday and hundreds more on Sunday. The police blocked Connaught Place, shut several metro stations and cut internet in central Delhi until the Supreme Court ordered service restoration and a guarantee of free movement.
In a defiant post on X, Dipke called the prime minister an embarrassment and vowed that the CJP would not back down. The organisers claim they will keep pressing until the election commission accepts their demands, while analysts warn that the unrest could influence upcoming state polls.
