3 min readNew DelhiJun 10, 2026 11:12 AM IST
First published on: Jun 10, 2026 at 06:18 AM IST
As the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) draws support for its campaign against paper leaks and other exam controversies, the BJP will take an accommodating stand. Amid clamour for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign, senior BJP leaders stressed here Tuesday that youth should not be “defamed for their aggressive stand over issues”.
Noting that he had “serious reservations about Gen Z being termed as anti-establishment”, a top BJP leader said: “There are youngsters who are involved in stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir, but it’s also thanks to them that the Union Territory won the Ranji Trophy for the first time. Similarly, the Gen Z that is making the Start Up drive a success is also protesting over errors in the education sector.”
A senior Cabinet minister downplayed the CJP-led protest in Delhi where supporters voiced their anger over exams, joblessness and the gloomy economic situation, saying: “It’s part of democracy. Such things happen in democracies.” However, he said, that does not mean the issues raised by them did not need to be addressed.
A leader said that, left unaddressed, the issues could grow. “We cannot let them remain unattended or unaddressed. If we do so, they can gain traction. All kinds of discontent would be attached to it… As in physics, where force multiplied by speed equals power, so is the case with the youth of India. There is no denying their power but, at the same time, it requires the right direction.”
However, the BJP leaders did not agree that this meant the government should have discussions with the protesters. A leader said addressing the issues they have raised is more important, while pointing out that the CJP still does not have a proper format of an organisation for the government to have discussions with.
Paper leaks
Regarding the paper leak that forced the cancellation of NEET- UG 2026 exam, affecting 2.2 million students, and the evaluation lapses in CBSE board exams that have triggered massive student protests – the immediate trigger for the CJP protest – the leaders felt these were “temporary issues, because of loopholes in the system”.
Another leader pointed out: “It is also important to understand that while there are issues that they (the youth) are bringing to the fore, they are also looking at us (the BJP-led government) for their resolution. It underlines the trust they have in us.”
The minister made a distinction between Indian youth and their counterparts: “Youth here are brought up with more traditional values.”
In the recent past, youth-led agitations have led to toppling of governments in neighbouring Nepal and Bangladesh.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke led a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav) 
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