The “Cockroach Movement”, which initially gained traction on social media platforms, on Friday spilled onto roads as youth, under the banner of the Cockroach Janata Party, organised a protest demonstration in the city and submitted a memorandum to the district authorities, raising issues related to paper leaks, alleged irregularities in recruitments and poor infrastructure in government schools across the state.
Earlier, the protesters led by Zila Parishad councillor Jaidev Dagar gathered at Mansarover Park and took out a march till the mini-secretariat by raising slogans against the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state. In the memorandum, the protesters alleged that repeated examination paper leaks reflected “serious negligence” and had played with the future of lakhs of students. The protesters demanded the resignation of the Union Education Minister over the issue.
The memorandum also sought cancellation of controversial recruitments conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), alleging that several candidates from outside states had been selected through “wrong means”. They also demanded a fair and impartial inquiry into the recruitment and cancellation of disputed selections.
Highlighting the condition of government schools in Haryana, Dagar alleged that infrastructure in many government schools was in a poor state posing a threat to the life of students studying there. He demanded adequate budgetary allocation for improving school buildings and facilities.
Another key demand raised during the protest was that government teachers should focus on teaching students, while survey-related duties should be assigned to trained unemployed youth instead of teachers.
The protest drew attention due to the growing popularity of the “Cockroach Movement” among unemployed youth and students on digital platforms. Protesters claimed that the movement reflected widespread frustration over examination paper leaks, recruitment controversies and the declining standard of education in the state.
