Srinagar, Jul 24 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said the massive youth protest in the national capital has slipped out of the hands of the “Cockroach Janata Party” (CJP), asserting that the agitation now reflects a wider, organic anger among young people that the Centre cannot afford to ignore.
“They are entitled to make the demands that they want to. It is for the government of India now to see whether they want this protest of the youth to continue or not. Because I don’t think these youngsters are ready to step back,” CM Omar told news agency Kashmir News Service (KNS).
The Chief Minister’s remarks come as thousands of students and job aspirants continue their sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding justice over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and systemic reforms in the examination process.
Referring to activist Sonam Wangchuk, who on Thursday night ended his protest, CM Omar noted that the youth have remained undeterred. “Sonam Wangchuk broke his protest, but the youth did not take their protest back,” he said.
CM Omar stressed that the protesting crowd is no longer a CJP-led affair, pointing to the diverse composition of demonstrators on the ground. “The youth that I saw on the streets of Delhi this week, some of them were associated with the Cockroach Janata Party. But most of them were not even associated with them. They came down to the streets with their anger,” he said.
“This is not just a matter of the Cockroach Janata Party. I don’t think the Cockroach Janata Party has any control over this protest. This has now gone out of their control,” the Chief Minister asserted.
CM Omar made it clear that the onus now lies squarely with the Union government to decide the next steps. “Now, will the centre accept this demand of theirs or not? If it does not, how long will this go on? This will have to be decided by the centre,” he said.
“I feel that the centre should talk to these youngsters about all these things,” CM Omar added, urging the central leadership to engage directly with the agitating youth to find a resolution. (KNS)!
