India ‘Cockroach Party’ leader slapped repeatedly by ‘unknown men’ at protest

The founder and leader of India's Cockroach Janta Party was slapped repeatedly by unknown men during a crowded protest in the northern city of Jaipur on Monday, which he said was an attempt to scare him and his group.

Abhijeet Dipke, 30, who has lived in the United States for the past two years, was being carried along on the shoulders of supporters when he was suddenly slapped repeatedly on the shoulders and face by two men, television and social media footage showed. The men were not identified.

"These are all tactics to scare us, threaten us and distract us from the main issue at hand. But we will continue to speak out," Dipke said in a video posted on the group's social media accounts.

Dipke was slapped by at least two men several times before he was carried away.

The rapid rise of Dipke and his Cockroach Janta Party, which says it represents "the lazy, the unemployed, and the chronically correct", is driven by the concerns of the young in a country where those below the age of 30 are estimated to number more than half of the population of 1.42 billion.

The group, which has amassed more than 22.5 million followers on Instagram since launching in mid-May, has been demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over recurring leaks of examination papers and errors in marking that have threatened to derail the careers of millions of students.

Modi's government has blocked the movement's X account, which the group has challenged in a Delhi court. It now communicates with its 278,000 followers on X via an alternate account.