India's cockroach movement supporters gather to march

Hundreds of supporters of India's youth-led "cockroach" movement gathered in the capital New Delhi on Monday to march on parliament, seeking the resignation of the education minister despite police denying permission for the protest.



The months-old movement and the planned protest is seen as the biggest public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term in office, ganering millions of supporters on social media and mobilising support on ground as well.



The movement has been galvanised since police forcibly moved hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital on Saturday, with thousands of supporters arriving through the night at the protest site of Jantar Mantar in the heart of New Delhi for the march on the opening day of parliament's monsoon session.



Scores of police and paramilitary security personnel were also deployed at the heavily-barricaded site, threatening a stand-off a few km from parliament if the protesters seek to go ahead with their march.



"Quit, quit," the protesters chanted. "Dharmendra Pradhan quit", "Narendra Modi quit", they chanted in Hindi referring to the education minister as well as the prime minister.