Summary

  • Police in India's capital Delhi are clearing a site where the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had been sitting on a protest since June

  • Thousands of people turned up in central Delhi for a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) demanding reforms to the education system

  • They had been protesting for weeks, asking India's education minister to take responsibility for recent exam paper leaks and resign

  • The government so far had allowed them to protest, though the minister last month called the CJP the "B-team of disruptive elements"

  • On Monday, a senior government minister held a short meeting with protest leaders, the CJP announced

  • Tensions escalated on Saturday after police forcibly hospitalised activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk , who was on the 21st day of a hunger strike in support of the CJP

  • Despite its name, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is not a political party. It began as a satirical campaign but has since gained a massive following

  • The movement adopted the name "cockroach" after a senior judge used the term to describe unemployed young people, turning it into a symbol of resilience

Live Reporting

Edited by Soutik Biswas in London and produced by Sharanya Hrishikesh and Zoya Mateen with reporting by Geeta Pandey and Azadeh Moshiri from Jantar Mantar in Delhi

  1. Dipke says government has reached out for talks

    As we reported earlier, CJP founder Dipke has told the BBC that the government has reached out to them for talks. Dipke said they have demanded that Wangchuk be brought back to the protest site.

    The government still hasn't officially confirmed this.

  2. Who is Sonam Wangchuk and why is he in the news?

    Sonam Wangchuk, a Ladakhi environmental activist speaking during an interview with AFP at his office in Leh, summer capital of the country's union territory of LadakhAFP via Getty Images

    Sonam Wangchuk is a well-known Indian activist and educator who has been in the headlines recently after going on a hunger strike in support of the CJP's protest.

    At the protest site in Jantar Mantar, he went on a fast for 20 days, consuming nothing but salt and water, and lost more than 9kg.

    On Saturday, chaos broke out after police forcibly admitted him to a government hospital but his wife, Gitanjali Angmo, has said that he is continuing his fast there.

    Wangchuk was supposed to take part in today's march.

    The activist has said he would end his fast if the government took accountability "for the recent failures in the education system"; or if he and the CJP leadership reached parliament and MPs assured them they would take up the issue; or if lawmakers visited him in hospital and assured him this would happen.

  3. What's happening now?

    Geeta Pandey
    Reporting from Jantar Mantar, Delhi

    CJP

    I am at Jantar Mantar, a 300-year-old observatory in Delhi, where thousands of protesters, political leaders and activists have gathered.

    The atmosphere is spirited with protesters shouting slogans and people making speeches.

    Many are waving the Indian flag while others are carrying plastic roses as a peace offering.

    The protesters have come here to march to the Indian parliament, where the monsoon session has begun today. However, the police have set up massive barricades around the protest site and say the CJ doesn't have permission.

    So we are still waiting to see what will happen next.

    CJP founder Dipke has told the BBC that the government has reached out to them for talks. There is no official confirmation yet from the government. We'll bring you more on this soon.

  4. What is the Cockroach Janta Party?

    Abhijeet Dipke is the founder of CJPGetty Images

    Abhijeet Dipke is the founder of CJP

    What began as a satirical online collective has quickly turned into one of India’s most visible youth protests.

    Despite its name, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) is not a political party. It emerged after a Supreme Court judge likened some unemployed youth to “cockroaches” during a hearing.

    Instead of rejecting the label, young people - frustrated by rising unemployment and alleged irregularities in competitive exams - embraced it, turning the reviled insect into a symbol of resilience.

    Led by Abhijeet Dipke, the movement is demanding an overhaul of India’s education system, greater accountability over alleged exam paper leaks and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan has dismissed the CJP and its supporters as "the B-team of disruptive elements".

  5. Welcome to the BBC's live coverage

    Thousands of people have gathered in India's capital to march to parliament following a call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding reforms to the education system.

    There is a heavy security presence at Jantar Mantar - where CJP members and others have been protesting for nearly a month now - with several hundred police and paramilitary personnel deployed.

    Delhi Police has said that the protesters don't have permission for the march but a CJP spokesperson told the BBC that they plan to go ahead anyway.

    Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP emerged in May as an online satirical movement to protest against paper leaks and irregularities in exams and has gained a huge following.

    Stay with us as we bring you updates from the ground.