Nagpur | Wearing cockroach masks, displaying placards and raising slogans for justice, hundreds of youths, students and people from different walks of life participated in a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in Nagpur.

Speaking on the occasion, CJP founder and activist Abhijeet Dipke advised youths to stay away from religion-based politics.

The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over last month's NEET (UG) paper leak issue, five days ahead of the medical entrance re-examination.

The protesters, responding to a call by the CJP, a satirical collective which has morphed into a political movement, gathered at Samvidhan Square in the orange city for the demonstration, the latest in a series of such agitations organised by the outfit since its formation a month ago.

The agitators displayed placards with messages like 'Sack Dharmendra Pradhan, enough is enough - accountability transparency justice...resign education minister' and shouted slogans such as 'Inquilab zindabad' (long live the revolution).

Addressing the gathering, Dipke referred to the suicide by Akansha Chaturvedi, a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh who killed herself in Nagpur last month after the medical entrance test, in which she had appeared, was cancelled following irregularities.

The CJP founder, a political communications strategist, also took on Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over his reported "anarchist" comment.

"If they are calling me an anarchist for standing up for Akansha Chaturvedi, who committed suicide in Nagpur, then I am an anarchist," Dipke asserted.

The activist insisted he will stand up for students come what may.

Meanwhile, a group of people wearing saffron dupattas (stoles) shouted slogans against the CJP and raised 'Jai Shri Ram' chants at the venue. They got into arguments with the protesters and asked them why they did not hit the streets earlier when exam papers were leaked.

The group claimed the CJP was misleading youths and some urban Naxals had entered the protest at Samvidhan Square and raised anti-RSS slogans. Workers donning the saffron dupattas verbally clashed with CJP supporters as both sides raised slogans against each other.

Elaborate security arrangements were made at Samvidhan Square ahead of the CJP agitation.