Supporters of India’s youth-led Cockroach movement have clashed with police as thousands attempted to march to Parliament, demanding the education minister’s resignation, while the government has appeared to launch its first public outreach to the group leaders.
Police used tear gas and charged protesters with batons on Monday after they tried to breach security barricades surrounding the protest site in central New Delhi.
The crowd at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site about 2km (1.2 miles) from Parliament, included students, professionals and families with young children.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) emerged in May after the Supreme Court’s chief justice compared some unemployed young people with “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing. Supporters embraced the remark, turning it into a satirical movement that has attracted millions of followers on social media.
The movement has grown in strength following repeated leaks of high-stakes entrance examinations for medical colleges and government jobs, which have provoked public anger. It drew wider attention after police forcibly moved hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital on Saturday.
Protesters calling themselves “cockroaches” have camped at the Jantar Mantar park for the past month, with members of several student groups joining Wangchuk’s hunger strike. Thousands of supporters have also turned out at universities and rallies in other cities. They are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, reforms to the examination system and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide after paper leaks.