NEW DELHI: The viral, Gen Z-led “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP) transitioned from a satirical online sensation into a major on-ground political force today, drawing a massive crowd of students and youths to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Founded on May 16 by 30-year-old digital strategist and Boston University graduate Abhijeet Dipke, the movement sparked in response to a controversial remark by Chief Justice Surya Kant, who had compared certain unemployed youth to “parasites and cockroaches.”

Repurposing the insult into a symbol of public resilience and frustration, the CJP quickly amassed millions of social media followers.

Today’s physical mobilization was organized to demand the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over recent examination scandals, specifically highlighting the alleged NEET-UG paper leak that protesters say has shrouded the future of millions of youth in darkness.

The high-stakes demonstration proceeded under heavy police security after the Delhi High Court declined an urgent hearing on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to enforce preventive crowd-control measures.

Having just flown back from the United States to lead the event, Dipke arrived on the Jantar Mantar stage chanting “Jai Bhim” and holding a copy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s autobiography, boldly declaring to the roaring crowd that India’s youth would no longer live in fear.

The atmosphere remained highly charged, marked by a brief scuffle when a lone counter-protester entered the site wielding a pest-control spray before being swiftly removed by security.

Backed publicly by prominent politicians like TMC MP Sagarika Ghose and a host of Bollywood celebrities—including Anurag Kashyap and Konkona Sen Sharma—the digital outfit proved its ability to translate online viral momentum into real-world action, officially announcing its next massive rally at New Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan for June 23.