SUPPORTERS of India’s youth-led Cockroach movement clashed with police today as thousands of them tried to march to parliament to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Police fired tear gas and charged at protesters with batons after demonstrators tried to breach security barricades surrounding the protest site in central New Delhi, marking one of the most serious confrontations yet in the movement’s campaign against far-right Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The crowd at Jantar Mantar, a designated site for protests just a few miles from the parliament building, included students, professionals and families with young children. 

The Cockroach Janta Party emerged in May after the Supreme Court chief justice compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing. 

Supporters embraced the remark, turning it into a satirical movement that has attracted millions of followers on social media.

It has gained momentum after repeated leaks of high-stakes entrance exam papers for medical colleges and government jobs sparked 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 Jantar Mantar for the past month, with members of several student groups joining Mr Wangchuk’s hunger strike. 

Delhi police said the march had not been authorised and that restrictions were needed to maintain law and order around parliament during the legislature’s monsoon session, which began today.

Cockroach Janta Party spokesman Saurav Das said he and another representative were meeting Health Minister JP Nadda. The government did not immediately confirm the meeting.

Yoga teacher Jyoti Rajput said she had joined the protests because “this rotten system refuses to take action,” adding: “It cannot see the pain of students and that’s why so many people have joined this movement.”