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India news: Opposition steps up pressure amid 'Cockroach' protests
India: Opposition steps up pressure amid CJP protests
Dharvi Vaid with AFP, AP, Reuters and ANIPublished 07/22/2026Published July 22, 2026last updated 07/22/2026last updated July 22, 2026India's opposition MPs are reiterating the Cockroach protesters' demands for the education minister's resignation. Pradhan has finally addressed the protests, calling on him to step down.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HXJKWhat you need to know
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Here are the latest developments from India on Wednesday, July 22.
- Opposition MPs are wearing black clothes in the parliament premises in protest against the police crackdown of the Cockroach youth protest
- The opposition is echoing the Cockroach Janta Party's demand for the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
- Pradhan has broken his silence a month after the CJP protests began and has promised 'reforms and accountabilty'
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Cockroach revolution turns on India's leader
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HbFaSkip next section Indian protesters calls for Modi to resign07/22/2026July 22, 2026Indian protesters calls for Modi to resign
Shalu YadavThe streets leading to Jantar Mantar are reverberating with slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and anger towards security forces.
It seems that after Monday’s police crackdown, the goalposts seem to be moving from the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to demands that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself resign. One bit of graffiti on a wall read, "First it was about Pradhan, now it’s about Modi."
People from different parts of the country are holding protests way beyond the periphery of the main stage at Delhi’s iconic Jantar Mantar site.
They are expressing their discontent with Modi for what they called institutionalized corruption, communal politics and autocratic actions like instructing the police to crack down on students. Wednesday, we saw many teenage students joining the protests after school.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Ha7HSkip next section Rahul Gandhi calls India's education system 'rigged,' puts forth three core student demands07/22/2026July 22, 2026Rahul Gandhi calls India's education system 'rigged,' puts forth three core student demands
India's main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, sought to amplify students' demands that he said are "demands which we are backing," while speaking at a press conference in New Delhi's Indira Bhawan on Wednesday evening.
Gandhi proceeded to list three demands:
- The resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
- Those who "assaulted students" during the July 20 violent police crackdown on the Cockroach youth protest march must be "held accountable"
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi "must apologize to the students"
Gandhi alleged that India's education system had become a "rigged" system.
He also claimed that there had been 152 paper leaks in the last year and "zero convictions."
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told lawmakers from his coalition that strong action was taken against those involved in the NEET medical entrance exam paper leaks.
The prime minister was cited as saying at the meeting that 13 people were arrested and jailed after reports of the leaks surfaced.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HZfpSkip next section What is the status of talks between government and Cockroach protesters?07/22/2026July 22, 2026What is the status of talks between government and Cockroach protesters?
Cockroach Janta Party Spokesperson Saurav Das said on Wednesday that the protest leaders had turned down an invitation for talks at Health Minister J P Nadda's residence and had asked for the dialogue between the protesters and government to take place at a "neutral ground" instead.
"Police reached out to us this morning, saying J P Nadda wants to talk to us, so has called us to his home. But we flatly refused, saying that we won't go to anyone's house or office," Das told Indian media reporters.
"The people's court is here, ministers should come among the people," he said.
However, he added that if there were security concerns the meeting could happen at "some neutral place near Jantar Mantar."
While there was no official statement from Nadda on the talks, The Indian Express cited Nadda earlier as saying that the talks between the protesters and the government were ongoing.
"Talks between CJP and the government are happening and we are always open to take talks forward," The Indian Express quoted Nadda as saying in an interview.
Nadda, who is the former President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, emerged as the government's main representative during talks with the protesters when the CJP formally handed their demands to him on Monday.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HYtcSkip next section Top court refuses urgent hearing on plea against police action against CJP protesters07/22/2026July 22, 2026Top court refuses urgent hearing on plea against police action against CJP protesters
India's Supreme Court on Wednesday declined an urgent hearing of a petition raising the issue of how the police handled the student protest in New Delhi earlier this week, legal news websites LiveLaw and Bar and Bench reported.
"Please don't waste our time and don't waste yours. Your time is more valuable than ours," Chief Justice of India Surya Kant told a lawyer who wanted to get the petition listed for hearing on Thursday, Bar and Bench Reported.
When the lawyer stated before the three-judge bench that there were videos showing police brutality, the top judge said, "We are not interested in videos; we don't have time to watch," LiveLaw reported.
It was India's Chief Justice Surya Kant who unintentionally inspired the Cockroach Janta party movement's name after he likened some unemployed youth to "cockroaches" and "parasites" during a court proceeding, in controversial remarks that sparked a social media outcry.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HYU5Skip next section CJP's Dipke urges Sonam Wangchuk to end hunger strike, questions Modi's silence on activist07/22/2026July 22, 2026CJP's Dipke urges Sonam Wangchuk to end hunger strike, questions Modi's silence on activist
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke appealed to activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike.
"The country needs him, and his life is far too precious to be put at further risk. The peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar will continue until our demands are met," Dipke said.
Earlier Dipke criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike.
"Tell the country why have you not reached out to Sonam Wangchuk yet to resolve the issue and end his hunger strike?" Dipke said.
Wangchuk was forcibly taken by the police to a hospital during his hunger strike but has reportedly continued to fast in support of CJP's demands.
On Tuesday, a court allowed the 59-year-old activist to be transferred to a private hospital of his choice after a petition filed by his wife alleged that he was in "illegal detention."
https://p.dw.com/p/5HY8LSkip next section What is the latest on the 'Cockroach' protests?07/22/2026July 22, 2026What is the latest on the 'Cockroach' protests?
On Wednesday, thousands of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) supporters were at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, resolute with their demands despite the violent police crackdown on their march on Monday.
"We will not leave Jantar Mantar until Dharmendra Pradhan resigns!" the protest movement declared on Wednesday.
"Cockroaches are alive," it said in another social media post, calling Pradhan "incompetent".
https://p.dw.com/p/5HY7xSkip next section India's education minister breaks silence as protests press for resignation07/22/2026July 22, 2026India's education minister breaks silence as protests press for resignation
India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration was committed to addressing the concerns of youth protesters and examination reforms, as he broke his silence amid intensifying calls for his resignation.
Protesters have asked Pradhan to step down, angered by a slew of entrance test paper leaks, including those of a major medical school entrance exam called National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
The NEET paper leak in May forced over two million students to resit the highly-competitive exam, leading to some young applicants taking their own lives.
"Our Government remains 100% committed to discussing NEET and addressing every genuine concern of our youth on the floor of the House," Pradhan said on X.
He criticized opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his Congress party's Tuesday protest outside Modi's residence, describing it as a "political spectacle," and saying that the government conveyed its readiness for a comprehensive discussion on the students' issues.
"The students of India deserve far better than being treated as props in a political campaign. They deserve certainty over chaos, solutions over slogans and responsibility over disruption," Pradhan said, referring to Gandhi's demonstration.
He said that students were owed "answers, reforms and accountability" and the Modi government "remains committed to delivering".
The statement is Pradhan's first on the youth protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that started as a sit-in demonstration at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 20 and quickly snowballed into a protest march on Monday, drawing thousands of protesters into the streets of central Delhi — India's main corridor of political power.
Police had denied permission for the march to the Indian parliament but the 'Cockroach' protesters pushed ahead, clashing with police who used tear gas and batons to push them back.
According to official figures, nearly 180 people — including 118 police personnel and 60 protesters — were injured.
India's Cockroach movement undeterred by police violence
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https://p.dw.com/p/5HXpRSkip next section Donning black, India's Opposition MPs protest at parliament complex07/22/2026July 22, 2026Donning black, India's Opposition MPs protest at parliament complex
India's opposition MPs held a protest in the parliament premises in New Delhi on Wednesday wearing black clothes as they called out "police brutality" in Monday's crackdown on youth protesters in the capital.
The lawmakers are protesting against the "Modi government's mishandling of the students' movement, and the continuation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in office," the opposition Congress party said.
India's main leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi were present at the demonstration, after being briefly detained the previous evening during their protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, where they called for the Indian leader's resignation.
"Students have genuine demands and are asking for their rights," Priyanka Gandhi told the media on Wednesday, adding that there was "nothing undemocratic about peaceful protest."
The opposition lawmakers' protest comes as the Indian parliament tries to proceed with its third day of the monsoon session.
The parliament has had a rocky start to its second session of the year, as thousands of young protesters tried to march to its gates on Monday demanding Pradhan's resignation and broader reforms to the country's examination system.
Inside the bicameral parliament, disruptions by opposition MPs demanding a discussion on entrance exam paper leaks over the last three days have led to the recurrent adjournment of both houses — the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
https://p.dw.com/p/5HXQnSkip next section Welcome to our coverage07/22/2026July 22, 2026Welcome to our coverage
Dharvi Vaid | Rana Taha EditorThis is Dharvi Vaid Dhulia from DW's studio in New Delhi, back with our daily capsule of all the biggest headlines and events that have got India talking.
Opposition lawmakers are planning to hold a demonstration outside one of the gates of the Indian parliament as they demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The opposition protest comes two days after a swell of thousands of youth protesters — angered over what they call failures in the education system — tried to march to the parliament and were met with batons and tear gas volleys in a police crackdown.
The youth protest is seen as one of the biggest public challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government since he was reelected for a third time in 2024.
Last evening, dramatic scenes unfolded in the Indian capital as opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and members of his Congress party were briefly detained after they marched to Modi's doorstep, demanding his resignation over the police action against the student protesters.
Pradhan has issued his first statement since the protest against him led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) movement began over a month ago.
Meanwhile, at the protest 'ground zero' of Jantar Mantar, hundreds are still camping as the CJP presses ahead with its demands.
Stay tuned as we bring you more.
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