CJP supporters continue overnight at Jantar Mantar, Dipke urges students, parents to join today: ‘Go Pradhan Go’ | Today’s news
Several hundred supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) led by the outfit’s founder Abhijeet Dipek continued their protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday evening for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, despite being asked by the Delhi Police to leave the venue.
Dipke has called upon students and parents to join the protest today, June 21 at 9 am. On Saturday, the protesters stayed at Jantar Mantar beyond the permitted time and the police asked them to end the demonstration.
Read also | CJP demands ₹1 crore relief for kin of NEET aspirants who died by suicide
The protesters claimed that they will not leave until Pradhan, who is at the heart of the NEET paper leak controversy, resigns.
The Delhi Police allowed the CJP to protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. But just before 5pm, Dipke announced that the group would continue the protest until Pradhan resigned over the paper leak.
As time passed, the Delhi Police announced over loudspeakers that the permit for the protest had expired. Accompanied by the Rapid Action Force, police began asking people to leave the scene.
Police said continuing the protest outside the permitted time was “illegal” and against the conditions of the permit. Police also warned of legal action against the organizers and put up banners in and around the venue to convey the message,
Police said continuing the protest outside the permitted time was “illegal” and against the conditions of the permit. Police also warned of legal action against the organizers and put up banners in and around the venue to convey the message,
“Delhi Police Turn Off Lights”
By 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, most of the people in the area had left. Several hundred accompanied Dipke on stage during the protest. The CJP alleged that the Delhi Police switched off lights at the protest site and restricted access to water, food and washrooms. Protesters later said access to water had been restored and the lights had been turned back on.
The protest began around 1pm with a heavy police presence, CCTV surveillance, layers of barricades and body armor moving around the site.
There was a banner on the dais that read “Peaceful protest, Dharmendra Pradhan must resign”, while another banner paid tribute to the NEET aspirants who committed suicide following the paper leak and the subsequent cancellation of the entrance exam.
Read also | Bring ‘thali’ and ‘chamach’ for Jantar Mantar protest tomorrow: Abhijeet Dipke
Dipke, who again called for Pradhan’s resignation, was joined by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who announced that she would go on hunger strike on June 27 unless the minister resigned.
The CJP founder also demanded compensation ₹1 million for the families of those who died by suicide.
‘Go Pradhan Go’
Hundreds of protesters, mostly youths, responded to Dipke’s call to bring “thali and chammach” and beat them up on the spot, while chants of “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign” filled the air. Some supporters carried placards and others banged plates, their noise breaking through the crowd of protesters demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation with slogans of “Go Pradhan Go”.
Read also | NEET-UG Re-test 2026 Live: NTA fully prepared for June 21 exam
The plate banging appeared to satirize Modi’s call for Indians to take to balconies and rooftops and bang dishes in solidarity with frontline health workers during the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
“If banging boards could drive away the corona, then banging boards could drive away Dharmendra Pradhan,” Dipke said.
This was the second protest organized by the CJP at Jantar Mantar over repeated paper leaks and demands for accountability from the government. This happened a day before the NEET-UG reexamination on Sunday.
Earlier, Dipke had said that the channel for dialogue with the Center was open, but only on the condition that the education minister resigns.
“If there are arrests, I will be the first to be arrested by the court,” he told the protesters.
Wangchuk, who earlier joined two CJP protests, said, “Merely banging plates will not solve anything. When I sit on a fast, I hope you will stand with me.”
“We demand accountability from a minister who has clearly made mistakes. There should be accountability and if it is demanded, there should be mass resignations,” he added.
Read also | CJP launches nationwide furore against Pune’s Dharmendra Pradhan
Supporters at the protest wore cockroach masks and held placards, some of which read: “If the deaf are to hear, the sound must be very loud” and “Sack Union Education Minister”.
Ahead of the protest, Dipke wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that responsibility for the concerns raised by the students be addressed.
This demonstration follows the CJP’s earlier protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6.
NEET-UG 2026 today
The country’s biggest medical entrance examination, the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, will be held across India and abroad today, after the original examination on May 3 was canceled amid allegations of irregularities.
If banging boards could drive away a corona, then banging boards can drive away Dharmendra Pradhan.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) in coordination with the central and state governments, police, district administrations and paramilitary forces has put in place extensive security measures to ensure a leak-proof, fair and transparent process for more than 22 thousand applicants for admission to MBBS, BDS and other undergraduate medical courses across the country.
