Cockroach’ protests: India’s Modi promises to punish officials over exam leaks

PM says ‘those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared’ as scandal spirals into widespread anger

BY THE GUARDIAN Narendra Modi has vowed to set up “fast-track courts” to speed up the punishment of officials accused of leaking examination papers, as the Indian prime minister seeks to quell a youth-led “cockroach” protest movement that has rocked Delhi and posed one of the biggest challenges to his government.

In his first public remarks on the movement, Modi posted on X: “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth … Those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared.”

The offer of faster justice than usual from India’s clogged judicial system, which can take decades to deliver a verdict, was swiftly rejected by the Cockroach Janta party (CJP), the satirical name the youth protest movement coined after India’s top judge called unemployed youths “cockroaches”.

Saurav Das, a CJP spokesperson, said: “It’s a Band-aid. That’s not giving us accountability. There have been zero convictions so far all these years, so this measure is of no use.” A core demand of the movement is the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, as well as reform of the education system.

An estimated 50,000 people protested in Delhi on Monday, after police denied them permission to march on parliament. Officers later mounted baton charges and fired teargas. By Wednesday, more than 1,000 people remained camped at the CJP’s protest site in central Delhi despite the gruelling heat and humidity. Many had travelled long distances to be there.

Renuka Chowdhury, an opposition MP with the Congress party, told the news channel India Today that no one could fathom why Modi would not sack Pradhan. “Honestly, is this one minister more valuable or more important than restoring harmony and order to the country?” he said.

Modi’s statement follows signs the government may be softening its stance. Ministers have insisted they are willing to talk to the CJP but have refused to discuss Pradhan’s resignation.

Young people across India have also rallied behind the CJP’s demands, with three consecutive days of demonstrations in Mumbai and solidarity protests in Chennai, Indore, Hyderabad and Patiala.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the opposition leader Rahul Gandhi escalated his criticism, demanding that in addition to Pradhan resigning, Modi should apologise for failing to provide a fair education system.Gandhi said there had been 152 exam paper leaks across the country over the past decade without a single conviction.

“Somebody, or a group of people, are destroying our education system, India’s most valuable asset, destroying the lives of our students. What does the government do? Zero convictions,” he said.

Your concern is not to improve the education system, enhance the quality of education or ensure justice for students. Instead, you are trying to use students’ issues and their demands for political mileage. You are trying to derive political benefit from them, and that is unfortunate,” he said.

CJP leaders were deeply disappointed after Monday’s meeting with Nadda – the first in over 60 days – ended without a breakthrough. Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, has since said that if ministers want to speak to them, they will have to come to the protest site and do so in public.

Many in India are asking why Pradhan will not resign. Anish Gawande, an opposition politician, said Modi viewed backing down as a sign of weakness, particularly now that he no longer commands the parliamentary majority he enjoyed during his first two terms.

“He is facing global headwinds that prevent him from executing any major reforms in agriculture, energy, the economy. The unemployment rate is climbing to levels not seen in three decades,” he said. “A show of weakness now will give an entry point for the opposition to move in and build a similar momentum around other issues […] Before you know it, things have spiralled out of control.”