India's CJP and government dispute protest cases and surveillance

The Cockroach Janata Party and India's government have been in dispute over how the state should treat protesters in the 2026 NEET exam-leak campaign. The CJP demanded withdrawal of all FIRs filed against participants after police used water cannons, tear gas, pellet guns and lathis to disperse a July 20 march from Jantar Mantar toward Parliament. The central government and four BJP-ruled states, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal and Maharashtra, moved to quash more than 100 cases under Article 142; the government reserved the right to file a fresh FIR against nearly 2,900 people with existing criminal records who were present.

The CJP began in May 2026 after Chief Justice Surya Kant compared unemployed young people to cockroaches. Political consultant Abhijeet Dipke turned the insult into a rallying call, and the movement's name echoed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Its first major victory came on July 25, when Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned after a 36-day protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged examination irregularities. The government also promised no punitive action against protesters.

By late August, the CJP accused the government of reneging and announced a September 5 march demanding withdrawal of all FIRs. On September 1, the Supreme Court ordered all FIRs registered nationwide over the July protests closed. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court the government would compensate families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide after the exam was canceled. CJP co-convener Saurav Das withdrew the march.

The dispute also exposed surveillance. Delhi Police deployed mobile surveillance vans, 360-degree cameras and facial-recognition technology around the protest site. One system, Ikshana, matched faces against police records. Police told the Supreme Court it flagged 2,873 people with existing criminal records. A Scroll.in investigation found at least 25 of those flagged, including people accused of murder and rape, were already in jail. A petition has reached the Supreme Court, alleging data was collected without consent and hosted by private companies.

The CJP's Instagram following reportedly exceeded 26 million at its height, more than the combined following of India's two main national parties. The movement rejected becoming a conventional electoral party, but its campaign extracted a resignation, compensation promises and the closure of protest cases while leaving questions about digital records and the right to assemble.