Wasseypur, Melodi and Messi: How memes took center stage at CJP Jantar Mantar protest over NEET paper leak | Today’s news
Supporters of India’s virulent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) pounded spoons on steel plates in a protest on Saturday to demand the resignation of the education minister over allegations of examination irregularities and repeated paper leaks.
Several hundred, led by CJP founder Dipek, continued to protest overnight even after the permitted time of 5:00 p.m.
Read also | CJP continues overnight at Jantar Mantar, Dipke urges people to join
The protest by hundreds of students and young supporters near the demonstration site near Parliament in a national park came amid a heavy police and rapid action force (RAF) deployment, with cameras and drones used to monitor it.
The participants, mostly college students, carried placards with creative slogans, Urdu poetry and memes inspired by popular Bollywood dialogues and recent political developments involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders, who used satire and metaphor to express their political criticism.
Others were banging cymbals, their noise cutting through the crowd of protesters demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The plate banging was a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Indians to take to balconies and rooftops during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and bang dishes in solidarity with frontline health workers.
Political color
Protests in India cannot be apolitical. Highlights included mention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Italian counterpart Giorgio Meloni in May. “Paper leak kab band hoga? (When will the paper leak stop?) Melodi Khao, Khud Jaan Jao,” read one of the posters.
Highlights included mention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Italian counterpart Giorgio Meloni in May. “Paper leak kab band hoga? (When will the paper leak stop?) Melodi Khao, Khud Jaan Jao,” read the poster.(Gulam Jeelani)
Former AAP leader Raghav Chadha may also have been missing from the protesters. A poster of Chadha’s photograph read “Raghav Chadha is missing”, perhaps mocking the current BJP leader about the time he raised public issues in the Rajya Sabha as an AAP MP.
Chadha along with leaders Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak announced the merger of seven AAP MPs with the BJP.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, a political communications strategist and student at Boston University, called on parents and students to join the protest on Sunday as well. The Delhi Police allowed his group to stage a demonstration till 5pm on Sunday, but he decided to continue beyond the permitted time. Dipke announced that he will continue the protest until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over the NEET and other paper leaks.
Read also | NEET-UG Re-test 2026 Live: NTA fully prepared for June 21 exam
The exam paper of NEET, a national medical program, was leaked last month via social media app Telegram. The authorities subsequently postponed the test and also temporarily banned Telegram in India. The exam is scheduled for Sunday. The government says the leak is under investigation.
Bollywood memes
The posters also featured a drop of iconic dialogues from Bollywood films.
From Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s iconic “Sabka badla lega tera Faizal” from Gangs of Wasseypur to the popular “Abe jaldi bol, kal subah Panvel nikalna hai” from Golmaal and Amitabh Bachchan’s famous “Rishte mein to hum tumhare…” dialogue, rewashagin with link to protest pages on current Bolwood website. student related issues.
The CJP emerged in May after remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant likening some unemployed youth to “cockroaches” sparked outrage. Supporters embraced the term as a symbol of resilience and helped the group amass more than 22 million followers on Instagram.
From Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s iconic “Sabka badla lega tera Faizal” from Gangs of Wasseypur to the popular “Abe jaldi bol, kal subah Panvel nikalna hai” from Golmaal and Amitabh Bachchan’s famous “Rishte mein to hum tumhare…” dialogue, rewashagin with link to protest pages on current Bolwood website. student related issues.(Gulam Jeelani)
CJP mixes self-deprecating humor with political criticism. Supporters jokingly call themselves unemployed and chronically online, while videos and memes mocking unemployment, corruption and political dysfunction have attracted millions of views. Many parody accounts of the CJP have also adopted the cockroach as a satirical political symbol.
The movement’s message has since expanded to include concerns about unemployment, the rising cost of living, and government accountability.
Messi’s hat-trick to “Har Shaakh Pe Ullu”
The FIFA World Cup has also found a place in protest meme culture. One poster referred to Argentine soccer icon Lionel Messi and his recent hat-trick against Algeria, drawing a parallel between sporting dominance and the political message pushed by the protesters.
Some posters also featured Urdu poetry. The poster wrote one line from the couplet “Barbad-e-Gulistan Karne ko Ek hi Ullu Kaafi Tha, Har Shaakh Pe Ullu Baitha hai, Anjam-e-Gulistan Kya Hoga”. This loosely translates to “Once a single owl was enough to destroy a flourishing garden. Now that an owl sits on every branch, what fate awaits the garden?”
Read also | CJP demands ₹1 crore relief for kin of NEET aspirants who died by suicide
The couplet is a satirical metaphor. “The garden symbolizes a nation, institution or society, while ‘owls’ represent incompetent or harmful people in positions of influence. A verse by Urdu poet Shauq Bahraichi suggests that if one such person could cause harm, widespread incompetence or misgovernance could lead to total destruction.
The protesters say they will not leave until Pradhan, who is at the heart of the NEET paper leak controversy, steps down, even as the Delhi Police has refused to allow them to proceed officially.
Once upon a time, a single owl was enough to destroy a blooming garden. Now that an owl sits on every branch, what fate awaits the garden?
As the protest at Jantar Mantar enters its second day, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has appealed to students and parents to join the protest at 9 am today, June 21.
(With input from agencies)
