Post share decade-old protest video to disparage Cockroach Janta Party demonstrators
- Published on July 13, 2026 at 11:39
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
A protest by India's satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in New Delhi drew hundreds of demonstrators demanding the education minister's resignation, but a video purportedly showing them kissing shows scenes from another rally more than a decade ago. The photographer who filmed the clip said he shot it at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2014.
"The Cockroach protest reaches its peak at 2 am at Jantar Mantar," reads the Hindi-language caption of an X video shared on July 1, 2026, referring to a well-known protest site in New Delhi.
The minute-long video shows individuals moving to the centre of a small gathering before kissing each other as the crowd cheers on.
The X account has repeatedly shared misinformation that AFP has fact-checked more than once.
The video circulated as protesters, some in paper cockroach masks -- a reference to reported remarks by India's top judge -- called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam irregularities, including question paper leaks and technical glitches (archived link). The protest has also been joined by renowned climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has been on hunger strike since June 28.
Born out of an X post by the parody party's founder, Abhijit Dipke, in May 2026, the CJP now has around 22 million followers on its Instagram account, eclipsing the BJP's by 13 million followers. Dipke said the movement is here to stay and will continue to evolve around student anger, exam fraud and wider frustration with institutions.
The video was also shared in similar Facebook and X posts, but it in fact shows a different student protest from 2014.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video found a longer version shared on YouTube on November 12, 2014 (archived link).
The video is titled, "kiss of Love festival JNU", in reference to Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (archived link).
Further keyword searches found the clip was also shared by a Facebook page called "Kiss of Love" on November 19, 2014, which credited the video to Ijas Muhammed (archived link).
The page describes the movement as a "non-violent protest against moral policing" that started in Kerala and later spread to other parts of India.
AFP contacted Muhammed, who confirmed the visuals were shot at an event on Delhi's JNU campus in November 2014.
British broadcaster the BBC also published images similar to those seen in the circulating clip, in a November 12, 2014, report headlined "How the 'kiss of love' spread across India" (archived link).
The event was held to protest moral policing after a TV report showed couples kissing at a cafe, prompting members of the BJP's youth wing to vandalise the premises.
The movement subsequently spread across India, with university students in Calcutta, Hyderabad and Delhi organising 'kiss of love' protests in a show of solidarity.
AFP has previously debunked misinformation concerning the CJP protest.
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