How did the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) — a student-led movement formed after Chief Justice Surya Kant's remark about ‘youngsters like cockroaches’ and fueled by the leaked NEET-UG 2026 exam paper — galvanize India’s Gen Z into uniting against corruption in the education system? The CJP-led protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar resulted in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replacing Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan outside of its own schedule, a feat the opposition has not managed to achieve thus far.
Insights from Ashutosh Ranka
In a candid interview with the Indian Express, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka shared intriguing insights about the movement and its struggles. He humorously noted that the Centre accepted their demands because CJP is perceived as the BJP’s ‘B-team’. However, he expressed that such comparisons are unfair.
““People resort to looking at the final result, right? They’ll not go into the process. We know how much we had to fight to arrive at this position,” he stated, referring to the 37-day Jantar Mantar sit-in held in June-July.
Ranka highlighted the relentless discussions between CJP leaders Saurav Das and Ratna Singh with the government, which went largely unreported. He emphasized the challenges of organizing a protest in Delhi, stating:
““It takes a lot. It takes a lot of planning, it takes a lot of mobilization, it takes a lot of effort, right?”
