India's Cockroach movement vows to keep protesting over education minister

India's "Cockroach" party movement said Tuesday that it would continue pressing for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, a day after at least 178 people were injured during protests in New Delhi. Hundreds of protesters remained at the Jantar Mantar protest site on Tuesday, many calling for changes to the education system. Thousands had gathered in central New Delhi on Monday to demand Pradhan's resignation in a show of strength by the Cockroach Janta Party online movement. The CJP has gained millions of social media followers since its launch in May. The source described the movement as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he won a third term in 2024. CJP spokesman Ashutosh Ranka wrote on social media that the movement would not stop and that Pradhan had to be dismissed. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged supporters not to lose hope, saying from the top of a lorry that opponents wanted to break their spirit and silence them. Police fired tear gas and baton-charged protesters on Monday to stop them from marching on parliament. The source described the rally as Delhi's biggest street rally in about five years. Delhi Police said late Monday that at least 178 people were injured in clashes between protesters and security officials. The force said the injured included 118 police personnel, including senior officers, and around 60 protesters. Police criticised what they called unruly, aggressive and violent behaviour by a violent mob. Protest organisers condemned what they called the authorities' high-handedness and said hundreds of protesters had been injured. Ranka told AFP it was a shameful day for Indian democracy and said students who had come over a genuine issue were brutally beaten by Delhi police. Ranka, who met senior minister JP Nadda on Monday, said the government had not yet responded to the protesters' demands. Protesters said they would not give up. Chandra Pratap Sishwi, a 25-year-old law student, said people had become more fearless and that seeing police beat people had made his blood boil. Opposition lawmakers demanded a parliamentary discussion on alleged brutality against students. Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party said students were beaten for asking legitimate questions about their future and questioned parliament's purpose if it could not discuss young people's futures. The protests come amid discontent over jobs and after examination scandals that have damaged confidence in India's testing system. The source said 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after a previous test was cancelled following a leaked question paper. It also cited another scandal involving the online marking system for tests taken by nearly two million high school students. Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju defended the government, saying it had acted quickly after the paper leaks by arresting several people. He said Modi had called for a foolproof system to prevent future irregularities during a closed-door meeting with allies on Tuesday. Modi had not directly commented on the protests, according to the report.