CJP protest in Bengaluru urges more participation, sustained questioning

Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party protest at Freedom Park , in Bengaluru on July 19, 2026, condemning Delhi Police’s removal of activist Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar.
| Photo Credit: J. Allen Egenuse
“Nothing is more dangerous than ‘mere bolne se kya hoga’ [What can be achieved by my speaking up],” read a poster that captured the essence of the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest at Freedom Park in Central Bengaluru, which saw the participation of over 1,000 people on Sunday.What began with a few hundred people at 10 a.m., the protest saw a gradual increase in the participants as more people joined.As it has since the beginning of the movement, the protesters demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and also questioned the forced removal of Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar in Delhi, where he had been observing a hunger strike, to a hospital.While the protest centered around the NEET paper leak and what the movement termed a “deteriorating democratic system,” it went beyond that agenda on Sunday, urging greater public participation and stressing the importance of questioning.A movement that must sustainAddressing the gathering, actor Kishor Kumar said emphasised that the momentum the movement has gained should not stop at NEET but should extend to other issues affecting farmers, labourers, Dalits, and other sections of society.Read live updates from the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar on July 19, 2026Evading accountabilitySohan, a 13-year-old boy, voiced his concern over the future of the youth, asking, “If a person like Mr. Wangchuk is being treated like this, then what will be our future?” He said the government should not assume that young people like him cannot understand what is happening, because they are watching and demanding accountability.Kavya, a student, also expressed concerns over accountability and said the NEET aspirants did not kill themselves but were murdered by a flawed and failed system. “However, there is no accountability yet. Not just this, but protests across the country, including those by tribals, the people of Manipur, and others, have not been heard.” Published – July 19, 2026 01:43 pm IST



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