Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and others celebrate at the protest site after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns from his post, at Jantar Mantar, in New Delhi on July 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The crowd cheered and chanted slogans at the protest site in Jantar Mantar on Saturday (July 25, 2026) after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s tendered his resignation.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke joined the crowd from the dais and waved the tricolour and sang Vande Mataram by A.R. Rahman.
Addressing the protesters, Mr. Dipke said, “Dharmendra Pradhan has resigned and this is the proof that if you don’t get scared, you can win.” “You should not be scared to speak in a democracy. Only if you raise your voice, they will stay in line because they are sitting in power because of us.”
However, Mr. Dipke has announced that the protest will continue despite the resignation announcement.
He posted a picture of him holding the Indian Constitution, on X, and wrote “thank you.”
“We have two more demands. We will not go like that. We are cockroaches. Once it enters, it does not leave. Only one resignation has happened for now. Don’t mess with the cockroach,” he said.
Besides Mr. Pradhan’s resignation, the CJP has demanded ₹1 crore compensation for the families of students who died by suicide allegedly due to NEET paper leak controversy, and criminal action against those responsible for the alleged leak. The CJP also insisted that no action should be taken against the protsters and has demanded a public apology from RAF and Delhi Police for attacking the students during Parliament march earlier this week.
Mr. Dipke described Mr. Pradhan’s resignation as the movement’s “first victory” but reiterated that the remaining demands — compensation for the bereaved families and action against those responsible for the alleged paper leak — were yet to be fulfilled.
“The families of students who committed suicide should be given compensation. Action should be taken against police personnel who committed atrocities,” he said.
Minor clashes were reported between protesters and security personnel outside the Jantar Mantar protest venue towards Sansad Marg around 2 p.m., ahead of the resignation announcement.
Eye witnesses told The Hindu that the police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters.
The CJP started to protest at Jantar Mantar on June 20.
Published – July 25, 2026 04:27 pm IST
