For the first time in 12 years, the Modi government has been put on the defensive and forced to have a Union cabinet minister resign. The prime minister, who, until now, resorted only to one-way communication with the citizens through his monthly “Man ki Baat” or the annual address to the nation at Red Fort, was compelled by the Gen Z to initiate a dialogue directly with them through Instagram – a platform that is very popular with tech savvy Gen Z. The transformation can be attributed to the fact that causes being raised by the Gen Z were resonating with masses and receiving wide acceptability. The government, for the first time in 12 years, realised that there was a lot of dissatisfaction amongst the masses over its policies. Notwithstanding the negligible coverage of the protests by the mainstream media, the protests caught the imagination of people at large through the independent media, whose journalists were reporting from ground. The momentum that started building with Gen Z protests resulted in the expansion of the agenda from merely asking for the education minister’s resignation, which was the focus of CJP. The protests provided citizens with a platform to express their anger over several issues that were making the life of the common people difficult. People of all ages and strata joined hands to vent their angst over the widespread mismanagement of not only education, but also other aspects of governance by the party in power. The gap between what they had been promised and what was actually delivered – so far discussed only in hushed tones – was voiced openly during the protests. The public rose as one to voice their anger over the rising cost of education, poor infrastructure, rising cost of living, unemployment and the inability of the government to address these issues adequately. The protests also spread geographically to all major cities and towns of the country, waking the government from their slumber.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) started as an online reaction to the comments made by Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, when he referred to unemployed youth as cockroaches. The large following that they gathered on the internet within a short period was surprising to say the least. Many, including me, feel that such a phenomenal rise was not organic. Many feel that the phenomenon of CJP was the creation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with tacit support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The aim was to counter the efforts of opposition parties – Congress in particular – to raise the issue of repeated paper leaks and the callous attitude of the government towards education. Gandhi, besides raising this issue in parliament, had addressed a large public meeting in Kota which was attended mostly by students. His interactions with students and parents of children who had committed suicide due to NEET paper leak had earned wide appreciation for him as a leader concerned with issues of common people. National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, was aggressively campaigning against the ills prevailing in our education system. Their rallies and marches had drawn huge crowds all over the country.The suspicion gets strengthened by the fact that Dipke suddenly returned to India leaving the prospects of good education and better life in the US. Everyone fronting for CJP had a previous association with AAP. The high profile reception that Dipke received at the airport with the police handing him over the letter of permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar, despite the CJP not applying for it, also strengthened the suspicion about the ruling party’s involvement. The dismissal of CJP as a temporary phenomenon by most analysts was thus misplaced as they apparently had the support of the party in power. CJP probably would not have been able to collect enough crowd at the protests but for the efforts of student organisations like All India Student’s Association (AISA) and Student’s Federation of India (SFI), who supported the cause of protests. The script however turned on its head when the common citizen felt that the government was prepared to sacrifice the life of a national hero by adamantly refusing to sack an incompetent minister. The matters further worsened after the police suddenly removed Wangchuk from the scene of protest, prompting many students and others to come to Jantar Mantar from all over India to take part in the march to parliament on July 20. The last straw was the excessive use of force against the generally peaceful protesters during their march.The absence of all major CJP leaders from the scene during the protest march further eroded their credibility and strengthened the suspicion of their complicity with authorities. With Wangchuk taken away by the police, two main spokespersons of CJP removed from the scene, purportedly for discussions with Union health minister J.P. Nadda, and another spokesperson roaming far away from the march route, only Dipke was present in the march riding a truck. However, he miserably failed to lead from the front and channelise the energies of the protesters. The fact that there were five others who were on fast at Jantar Mantar is hardly discussed in the media. Neha Bora, a prominent face among those fasting, doesn’t belong to CJP. She has emerged as a strong voice of Gen Z, travelling to Patna to demand withdrawal of FIRs against students. On the other hand, prominent faces of CJP announced the end of protests after the resignation of Pradhan, without the government having conceded to the remaining demands. In view of discussion above, the claim by some CJP activists that the failure of mainstream political parties to raise the issues of Gen Z resulted in them reposing faith in the CJP doesn’t bear scrutiny.The fact is that CJP appears to be an artificial construct, and was not concerned with the much wider spectrum of demands by Gen Z. The CJP leadership with their conduct during and after the protests has lost their moral authority and relevance.The Gen Z, in their early 20s, isn’t encumbered by past baggage or any skeletons to hide. Born in the late 90s and the first decade of this century, they have been exposed only to the rule of the present BJP government and are discerning of its abject failure on many fronts, especially education, economy and absence of employment opportunities, which impact their daily life. Modern in outlook and tech savvy, they have access to information and are aware of the gap in their own standard of living vis-à-vis in other countries. They can discern propaganda from reality. They are no longer convinced with the argument that all ills of our country emanate from the leadership we inherited at time of independence. They are also not susceptible to the communal divisive agenda. Through the recent protests, the vocal and unafraid Gen Z has sounded the bugle and conveyed in no uncertain terms that the incumbent government must either mend its ways or be prepared for change. They will be ready to support any one who works towards meeting their aspirations.Sanjiv Krishan Sood was additional director general of the BSF.