Hundreds of students and supporters of India’s viral Cockroach Janta Party gathered near Parliament in New Delhi on Saturday, banging steel plates with spoons to demand the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over allegations of examination irregularities and repeated paper leaks.
The demonstration added pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with protesters also seeking broader public support.
Authorities deployed heavy security, while police monitored the protest using cameras and drones.
The protesters’ plate-banging was widely seen as a satirical reference to Modi’s 2020 appeal for Indians to stand on balconies and rooftops and bang utensils in support of frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.