Hundreds of young students gathered in New Delhi on Saturday for the first street protest by the satirical “Cockroach People’s Party” over alleged irregularities in recent major examinations.

Carrying paper cockroach masks and pamphlets, the protesters called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who has faced criticism over the irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches.

“We want accountability from the government,” Utkarsh Raj, a medical college aspirant, told AFP at the protest site, which was watched closely by police officers in riot gear.

“How is it that exam papers get leaked in this country? How is this right?” added Raj, 16.

Protesters were led by Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University graduate who arrived in New Delhi from the United States on Saturday.

“The youth of the country will no longer fear anyone, they will fight,” Dipke, a former political communications strategist for the opposition Aam Aadmi Party, told supporters at the rally.

“Cockroaches don’t ever fear, they never die either,” said Dipke, as others shouted in unison.

Protesters said young people were justifiably angry.

“India deserves better administration of such crucial exams by the government,” said 20-year-old Sarthak, who gave only one name.

Last month, authorities scrapped the nationwide medical college entrance exam after investigators uncovered a question paper leak.

Indian media reported suicides of teenagers following the fiasco over the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), one of the country’s most competitive exams.

That came on top of another scandal related to online marking system in tests taken by nearly two million high school students.

“Young people have to give these exams and they can’t have a situation where these exam systems have no credibility left,” said Sapan Gyan, 52, who accompanied his sons to the protest.

Modi’s government has blocked the movement’s X account in the country, a move the Cockroach Janta Party has challenged in a Delhi court.

Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the group of seeking followers from Pakistan and the “anti-India gang”.

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’s 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.

Political analysts say the group’s popularity has begun to dent Modi’s image despite his party’s recent victories in key state elections, even as wider frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages brought by the Middle East war.

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.

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.