CJP presses for Pradhan’s resignation at second Jantar Mantar protest

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke returned to the Capital on Saturday (June 20, 2026) after demonstrations in six cities and held a second protest at Jantar Mantar, which police moved to evacuate after the permitted 5 p.m. deadline. Mr. Dipke vowed to continue the agitation until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, the key demand of the CJP, which gained over two crore social media followers in a matter of days last month.

Follow the live updates of the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar live updates.

Crowds at the venue were comparable to those at the June 6 protest, when Mr. Dipke came straight from the airport after arriving from the U.S. However, the crowds largely started dispersing after police repeatedly announced over loudspeakers that the permission for the demonstration had expired at 5 p.m. A few hundred protesters nevertheless stayed back, surrounding Mr. Dipke, amid concerns within the CJP that he could be detained.

As the 5 p.m. deadline approached, Mr. Dipke declared that the protest was not over and that it would continue until Mr. Pradhan stepped down. Mr. Dipke then shared a handwritten letter requesting permission from the police to extend the demonstration. While the police ruled out extending the CJP’s sanctioned protest time, they also reduced their presence at the site later in the evening as the crowds thinned out.

Late into the evening, Mr. Dipke remained on the stage constructed at the venue even as the police restricted access to the stretch of the Jantar Mantar road where protests are usually permitted. Mr. Dipke alleged that even water was not being allowed into the venue, terming it a “human rights violation”. After sunset, authorities switched off the floodlights at the venue, following which protesters started using the flashlights on their phones. The police later appeared to relent, turning the floodlights back on and permitting water.

“Why is Dharmendra Pradhan still continuing as Minister?” Mr. Dipke asked amid the evacuation. “Is the law only for us? You [Delhi Police] are giving us a warning that your protest time has ended. You should also give a warning to Dharmendra Pradhan that your time in the Ministry has ended.”

Mr. Dipke had asked supporters to arrive with metal utensils and bang them during the protest, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call in 2020 for citizens to express gratitude for frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protest followed similar demonstrations in Pune, Lucknow, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Jaipur.