New protests by supporters of the anti-government “Cockroach Movement” in India resulted in clashes with the police in the capital New Delhi.
July 20, 2026, 8:04 p.mJuly 20, 2026, 8:04 p.m
Police used tear gas and batons to prevent thousands of demonstrators from a planned march to Parliament House, broadcaster NDTV and other Indian media reported. A session of the House of Commons had previously begun there. According to reports, there were injuries on both sides.
Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces.Image: keystone
The protests continued until the evening (local time). Participants accused the officers of brutal actions. The capital police, who had banned the announced protest march, contradicted reports of violent action.
Education Minister called for resignation
The protests were led by mostly young people who came together two months ago in a movement called the “Cockroach Janta Party/CJP”. Among other things, they are demanding education reforms and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He is expected to take political responsibility for a scandal surrounding previously leaked questions from university entrance exams in May. The nationwide test for more than two million applicants had to be repeated. According to observers, the “cockroach movement” is becoming a major challenge for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Discussions with government representatives
Despite the clashes, there were talks between representatives of the movement and Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, representing the government. According to participants, they ended without any tangible result. CJP spokesman Saurav Das wrote on Platform X that his side had submitted the demands in writing. “However, there were no binding commitments.” However, the minister said there would be internal discussions about it. Nadda himself spoke of a “friendly meeting”. He asked the CJP to stop their protest actions.
Reports: Party founder arrested
The situation at the site of the protests was confusing for a long time. According to a CJP spokesman and Indian media reports, party founder Abhijeet Dipke was taken away by police. There was no confirmation from the police, who, among other things, blocked access to parliament. According to CJP spokesman Das, Dipke was there again in the evening at the Jantar Mantar protest site in Delhi, which CJP supporters have been occupying for weeks.
The CJP was founded in May after the country’s top judge described unemployed young people as “cockroaches.” Within a few days she gained more than 21 million followers on Instagram. The CJP describes itself as a “satirical political movement”. It organizes itself primarily on the Internet; there is no party headquarters. She later also called for street protests in New Delhi and other cities. (sda/dpa)