Web desk(National Times)- The founder of India\u2019s viral Cockroach Janta Party arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to lead a protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government, taking the country\u2019s largest online youth movement to the streets for the first time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abhijeet Dipke, 30, who has lived in the United States for the past two years, had said his family and friends feared he could be arrested on his return to India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of police officers gathered near Jantar Mantar in central New Delhi on Saturday, barricading some of the surrounding roads as protesters shouted slogans demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modi\u2019s government has blocked the movement\u2019s X account in the country, a move the Cockroach Janta Party has challenged in a Delhi court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the group of seeking followers from arch-enemy Pakistan and the \u201canti-India gang\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group, which has amassed roughly 22 million Instagram followers since launching in mid-May, is the largest online expression of dissent against the Hindu nationalist Modi\u2019s 12-year-old rule, fuelled by persistently high youth unemployment and recurring leaks of examination papers that threaten to derail the careers of millions of students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political analysts say the group\u2019s popularity has begun to dent Modi\u2019s image despite his party\u2019s recent victories in key state elections, even as wider frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages brought by the Middle East war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police used loudspeakers to direct people to Saturday\u2019s designated protest site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a peaceful movement for the youth of the nation,\u201d said movement spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dipke is \u201cready for a long and big day in India\u2019s politics\u201d, Ranka said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India has nearly 400 million people aged 15 to 29, and generating non-farm jobs for them remains one of its biggest challenges despite rapid growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The urban youth jobless rate was nearly 14 per cent in April. Many educated young people are also stuck in low-paid or insecure jobs that do not match their skills, economists say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Web desk(National Times)- The founder of India\u2019s viral Cockroach Janta Party arrived in New Delhi on Saturday to lead a protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government, taking the country\u2019s largest online youth movement to the streets for the first time. Abhijeet Dipke, 30, who has lived in the United States for the past two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n