CJP protest in Delhi: Dipke, supporters continue overnight sit-in at Jantar Mantar; to encourage people to join the protest

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijit Dipke addresses a rally on the second day of a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 21, 2026. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke along with supporters continued their overnight protest at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak controversy and urged people to join the demonstration on Sunday.

The protest entered the second day on Sunday (June 21, 2026) when Mr. Dipke appealed to people to approach Jantar Mantar and also asked NEET aspirants to join the agitation after completing their re-examination.

“We are holding the fort but without your support this movement will not be successful,” Mr Dipke said.

The demonstration continued even after the Delhi Police said the permission granted for the rally had expired on Saturday, June 20, 2026 at 5 pm and asked the protesters to leave the venue.

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Mr. Dipke asked the police to allocate another place for the protest, but till then they will continue their sit-in at Jantar Mantar.

In a series of posts on X, Mr. Dipke appealed to the police not to stop people from coming to Jantar Mantar, saying the protesters were not doing anything wrong and were only seeking justice for the students who died by suicide.

He also asked the authorities to restore water supply to public toilets at the protest site, claiming that there had been no water supply since Saturday night (June 20, 202^). Protesters had previously claimed that the lights at the site had been turned off and access to water, food and washrooms had been restricted.

They later said access to potable water had been restored and the lights had been turned back on.

The Delhi Police ordered Mr Dipke and the protesters to leave the venue on Saturday evening (June 20), saying the demonstration was only permitted from 10am to 5pm.

As the night progressed, Mr. Dipke and the protesters remained in place, turning the demonstration into an overnight sit-in. Protesters continued to raise slogans demanding Mr Pradhan’s resignation and the protest site saw a steady presence of supporters overnight, with Mr Dipke continuing to address the gathering and urging more people to join the demonstration.

Several protesters carried placards and raised slogans and the atmosphere at Jantar Mantar remained charged.

Mr Dipke said the protest would continue peacefully and reiterated his call for dialogue with the Centre, saying the channel for talks would remain open if accountability was established and the education minister resigned.

The protest began on Saturday afternoon (June 20) with a heavy police presence, CCTV surveillance, barricades and the presence of security personnel wearing body cameras.

Following Mr. Dipke’s call to bring “thali and chammach”, hundreds of supporters, mostly youngsters, gathered at Jantar Mantar and banged plates and spoons while raising slogans demanding Pradhan’s resignation.

Mr. Dipke is demanding a compensation of ₹ 1 million for the families of students who died by suicide after the paper leak and the cancellation of the entrance exam. “If there are arrests, I will be the first to be arrested by the court,” he told the protesters.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who joined the protest, announced that she would go on hunger strike on June 27 if Mr. Pradhan did not resign.

This was the second protest organized by the CJP at Jantar Mantar over alleged repeated paper leaks and demands for government accountability.

Published – 21 Jun 2026 11:47 IST