Hundreds of students and government job aspirants gathered in Lucknow on Friday to protest alleged irregularities in public examinations and recruitment processes. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) intensified its demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.The demonstration at Lucknow’s Eco Garden brought together candidates preparing for competitive examinations, including teaching, medical, revenue, administrative, and other government recruitment tests. Protesters alleged that repeated paper leaks, delays in recruitment cycles, cancellations, and procedural lapses had undermined the prospects of millions of young Indians.The Lucknow event is part of a nationwide campaign by CJP, which has already held similar demonstrations in Delhi and Pune. The party has positioned itself as a vocal advocate for students and job seekers affected by examination controversies in recent years.Leading the protest, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke reiterated his call for Mr Pradhan’s resignation, arguing that accountability must be fixed for recurring failures in the examination system.“We have held peaceful protests in Delhi and Pune. We are not doing anything wrong. We only want to put forward our views in a democracy,” Dipke said before the demonstration.Police confirmed that permission was granted for the gathering after local teacher Vivek Kumar submitted an application Thursday evening.Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Babloo Kumar dismissed reports that permission had been denied. He said no formal application was received before Thursday evening, but once the required procedures were completed, permission was granted.According to police, the protest was authorised from 10 am to 4 pm, with around 1,000 participants expected.CJP has announced plans to continue its campaign with demonstrations in Amritsar and Bengaluru before a larger mobilisation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 20.The protests come amid growing frustration among students and job aspirants nationwide over alleged examination mismanagement, recruitment delays, and repeated paper leaks — issues that have become a political flashpoint ahead of several state and national elections.