Kids worry, parents feel the pressure too, both land up at ‘Cockroach’ protest: ‘Want a movement to trust’

AMonumental crowd together gathered at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on sat followers a call in for protest by the Cockroach Janata Party over recent exam lapses, including NEET, CBSE and CUET rows. Among the attendees of the protest were school students, college-goers, competitive exam aspirants and parents. Track live updates on CJP protestsMany parents said concerns over the education system had brought them to the demonstration, news agency PTI reported. Many of the attendees showed concerns over recurring controversies around examinations, uncertainty over results and a lack of accountability from authorities.What parents at the protest saidOne of the parents at the protest was Nusrat Parveen, who attended with her three daughters. She was quoted as saying that has seen the pressure students face while preparing for competitive examinations."My children are worried about their future. As a parent, I feel that pressure too," she said.Her daughters, Razda, a graduation student, and Iqra, who is in Class 11, said concerns over examinations and admissions have become a constant topic among students. "Education has become a way of earning money," Razda was quoted as saying.Another attendee of the Jantar Mantar protest, Zikra Parveen, said students map out their future plans based on expected results, but such uncertainty impacts them. "We had calculated our scores and were thinking about colleges. Then we learnt that the paper was cancelled," Parveen was quoted as saying.For some participants, the issues go beyond examinations and reflect broader concerns about opportunities available to youngsters.UPSC aspirant Raju Sharma said examination, said authorities need to be held accountable for such lapses. He also argued that opposition parties should lend stronger support to issues concerning education.Neeraj, a post-graduate student from Haryana's Jhajjar, said many youngsters feel that neither the government nor the opposition is effectively raising their concerns."We want a movement that can be trusted and that works on people's issues," he was quoted as saying.CJP's Jantar Mantar protestA massive protest was held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged lapses linked to examinations. Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party, led the protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Later, activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the protest as well.Dipke, who arrived in India on Saturday morning, threatened of a nationwide protest if education minister Dharmendra Pradhan doesn't resign.Dharmendra Pradhan and the education department are facing flak over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case and alleged irregularities in the CBSE's on-screen marking (OSM) system, which was used for both evaluation and re-evaluation of Class 12 board examinations.