Chants of “Go Pradhan Go” echoed in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar area on Saturday as protesters from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) began making noise. thalis (dishes) with spoons shortly after the demonstrations began at 1pm on Saturday.
The demonstrators, who carried plates and spoons in large numbers, demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The protest marked the second major mobilization of the CJP after its June 6 meeting at Jantar Mantar.
CJP founder Abhijit Debaki urged his supporters to bring thalis and spoons as the emerging online group intensifies its campaign against exam paper leaks and student suicides. Similar protests were held in Pune, Lucknow, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur.
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Why Thali and Shamakh Protests?
Debke jokingly claimed that UNESCO research showed that vibrations from thalis can make a big difference, as happened during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The call to bring plates and spoons appears to recall Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when citizens were asked to clap and bang pots to express gratitude to frontline workers.
Read also | ‘Get thali and chamash for protests’: CJP founder Abhijit Debke ahead of June 20 protest at Jantar Mantar
Debke’s own request to the protesters
Ahead of the protest, Deepak urged his supporters on social media to participate with plates and spoons, while CJP spokesperson Sourav Das appealed to artistes and singers to join the demonstration.
Debaki also wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, raising concerns about what he described as a growing crisis affecting students and seeking to hold the government accountable.
In the letter, he called on the Center to submit $Rs 1 crore compensation to the families of students who died by suicide amid exam-related controversies, claiming that 11 students had committed suicide in recent weeks.
He also reiterated the demand for the dismissal of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET papers leak issue.
Read also | PM Modi tells Bill Gates why he called for pot banging amid the Covid pandemic
“The Cockroach Janta Party has been demanding the resignation of the Education Minister for the past month and has been protesting across the country for our demands. All we students want is to see some accountability for the loss of life,” Debke said in the letter.
AKP 2.0 protests after the June 6 protests
Saturday’s protest came two weeks after the group’s June 6 demonstration in Jantar Mantar, where hundreds of students and young professionals gathered to demand action over alleged irregularities in entrance exams and employment tests.
The organization has since expanded its campaign to include several cities, and continues to press for accountability in exam-related matters, with Pradhan’s resignation remaining one of its key demands.
Security was tightened across Delhi ahead of the protest. Delhi Police said the CJP had received permission to hold the demonstration.
