The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) began its sit-in protest at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on June 20, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations.
The youth-led movement called for greater transparency and accountability in the education system. The protest gained nationwide attention after environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk joined an indefinite hunger strike on June 28.
In the above context, a video showing young men and women kissing each other has gone viral on social media. The footage is being shared widely in the context of the ongoing CJP protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over paper leaks.
Social media users on X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook are circulating the video, claiming it shows participants of the CJP protest engaging in public displays of affection at Jantar Mantar.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “When the whole world is sleeping peacefully, half-baked cockroaches are prepared at Jantar Mantar, through rigorous training so that later on, they may gather the courage to face reproductive challenges in society and produce more worthless unemployed losers like themselves.” (Translated from Hindi)
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is over 12 years old and is from JNU’s ‘Kiss of Love’ Campaign in 2014.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a YouTube channel on November 12, 2014, with a caption that reads, “‘kiss of Love’ festival JNU”.
Since the video predates the viral claim, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
We can further see that the same video was shared by an Instagram user on January 12, 2020, with a caption that reads, “They were protesting against an act of moral policing by a political party after a TV report showed couples kissing at a cafe. Members of the youth wing of the party of India vandalised the cafe, saying that what went on there violated Indian morals. Several people were temporarily detained at the event, prompting a further outcry online.
The kissing movement became viral across India - and with it, the opposition against public kissing. University students in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Delhi organised ‘Kiss of Love’ protests in a show of solidarity. In Hyderabad and Delhi, the demonstrations were opposed by supporters of the right-wing parties like ABVP and RSS groups, respectively. Gourob Ghosh (@gulabi_dreams) the openly gay candidate of JNUSU elections of 2013 is seen in the video.”
A BBC report published on November 12, 2014, contained visuals matching the viral video. The report stated that the ‘Kiss of Love’ protests were organised in several cities, including Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad, as demonstrations against moral policing.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video purportedly showing a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar has no connection to the ongoing demonstration. It is an old video from November 2014 showing the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign at JNU against moral policing. The claim that it shows participants of the CJP protest is false.