From compensation to age relaxation: Cockroach Janata Party reveals 5 new demands at Pune protest | Details

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has widened its campaign against examination irregularities, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and announcing a series of protests across India over the coming week. At its second protest rally in Pune on Thursday (Jun 11), attended by around 1,000 people, the party, which started as a satirical movement, unveiled five additional demands that it says are aimed at protecting students from the consequences of paper leaks, exam cancellations, delayed results and technical failures. Future demonstrations are planned in Lucknow, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Delhi between June 12 and June 20. Here's all you need to know.

Cockroach Janta Party's five new demands

The party founded by Abhijeet Dipke during its Pune protest unveiled five new demands, in addition to the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Prasad. The demands come amid mounting concerns over paper leaks, including in the NEET-UG 2026 exam, recruitment test delays, and technical glitches such as those seen in the CBSE Class 12 examination, which continue to dominate discussions around India’s examination system.
Let's take a look at the fresh demands by the CJP party:

Compensation for students affected by exam failures

One of CJP's key demands is financial compensation for students when examinations are cancelled, leaked or postponed at the last minute.

The party argues that candidates often spend thousands of rupees on travel, accommodation, coaching classes and study materials, only to see examinations disrupted due to administrative failures. "The government should provide ₹10,000 to each student to cover costs of trains, buses, accommodation, and psychological hardship. For delayed exam results beyond one month, each student should get an additional 10,000 per month for administrative failure," said the CJP in its press release.

Re-examinations within 72 hours

CJP has also called for a mandatory backup plan for every major examination conducted in the country.

According to the proposal, "if an exam is cancelled, leaked, compromised, or disrupted for any reason, authorities should be prepared to conduct a re-exam within 72 hours."

Manual evaluation for paper-based exams

The party has raised concerns about increasing dependence on digital systems for evaluating written examinations.

It argues that educational infrastructure remains uneven across India and that paper-based exams "should be evaluated through a transparent paper-based process" until reliable technological facilities are available everywhere. CJP says this would improve transparency and reduce concerns about errors in the evaluation process.

Age-limit relaxation for delayed recruitment exams

Another demand focuses on students and job seekers who lose eligibility because of examination delays.

CJP wants automatic age-limit extensions whenever an exam is postponed, cancelled or its results are delayed. The duration of the delay, it says, should be added directly to the upper age limit so candidates are not penalised for circumstances beyond their control.

Independent audits of computer-based exam centres

For online and computer-based tests, the party has proposed mandatory third-party audits of examination centres at least seven days before an exam. "Hardware, software, internet connectivity, and infrastructure must be tested in advance. If a centre fails the audit, it must be replaced immediately," according to the party.