According to Bloomberg report on July 31, a key member of the ‘ cockroach People’ Party, which led India’s largest student protests in recent years, said that the organization plans to launch a nationwide campaign demanding that Modi’s government fulfill its promises made to the youth group.
The organization’s spokesperson, 27-year-old former investigative journalist Solaf Das, said in an interview in New Delhi on the 31st that the organization plans to establish grassroots organizational structures and hire staff in various regions across the country.
Dass said that this organization, which transformed from a web joke to a large-scale student movement within just two months, has no plans to register as an official political party. Instead, the members of the organization plan to travel across the country, hold meetings in rural areas to listen to the demands of young people, and advocate for greater government responsibility regarding issues such as unemployment, inflation, and food security.
The core of this movement is accountability. Our proposed issues are all focused on the youth demographic. We intend to push the movement to the grassroots, where grassroots citizens face numerous difficulties but have no one to listen to their voices." Das said.
In May this year, a serious incident of leaked exam questions occurred during India’s national medical entrance exams, resulting in the invalidation of the scores of over 2 million candidates. A protest led by young people, known as the “Roach Movement,” has continued since June until now. Last week, the “Roach People’s Party” organized tens of thousands of people to protest on the streets of New Delhi. The wave of protests quickly spread to several cities across the country, and various opposition parties also supported their demands.
The protest activities ultimately forced the resignation of India's education minister, making him the first minister in Modi's cabinet to step down under public pressure.
Das said that the ‘ cockroach People's Party’ will continue to expand its influence as a ‘young political movement’. ‘We will act as a pressure group, establish an organizational system, and strive to build a backbone team for the ‘Cockroach People's Party’ in every region.’
The organization also plans to continue pressing the government to investigate allegations of the police using excessive force during the protests. Earlier this week, the ‘Cockroach People’s Party’ launched an online database to collect photos, videos, and testimonies, documenting alleged improper law enforcement by Delhi police during the demonstrations. Das revealed that the database has received more than 500 submissions.
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi also raised allegations of violent law enforcement by the police in parliament, demanding that Home Minister Amrit Singh resign due to his responsibility. Shri Amrit Singh is one of the key figures in Modi's government.
Das said that the Interior Minister should be held accountable. The Delhi police are directly under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. “No minister can escape accountability; all officials should act in accordance with the will of the people.”
