ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Veteran conservative lawmaker Constantine Tassoulas was sworn in as Greece’s new president Thursday, as the government grapples with lingering public anger over a deadly rail disaster two years ago.
The 65-year-old lawyer and former parliamentary speaker will serve a five-year term in a largely ceremonial role. He succeeds Katerina Sakellaropoulou, a retired senior judge and the first woman to hold the office.
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University student Despoina Billia places candles on the ground next to a toy train set at a makeshift memorial for a deadly 2023 rail disaster, outside parliament where Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas was sworn in, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. The names of the victims are written in red paint on the ground, while the banner in the background reads "Coverup President - Tassoulas Unwanted." (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Outgoing Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, center right, and the new President Constantine Tassoulas, center left, stand for the national anthem during the handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Yannis Kolesidis/Pool via AP)
Outgoing Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, right, and the new President Constantine Tassoulas stand for the national anthem during the handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Yannis Kolesidis/Pool via AP)
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, hugs the new President Constantine Tassoulas during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas stands during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, top center, takes an oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, center, takes an oath next to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronimos as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stands on the right during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas, top center, takes an oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas, right, takes an oath next to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronimos during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, left, thanks the members of Holy Synod, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stands next to him after his swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
A stalwart conservative, Tassoulas’ election marks a departure from the tradition of seeking cross-party consensus for the presidency.
The center-right government is still dealing with the fallout from a 2023 rail collision that killed 57 people, which sparked strikes and mass protests over a perceived lack of political accountability.
At Thursday’s ceremony, presidential guards in pleated kilts, red caps, and billowing shirts slow-marched past a makeshift memorial outside parliament. The tribute, adorned with candles and flowers, featured the names of the victims scrawled in red paint.
At a handover ceremony, Tassoulas pledged to promote national unity and praised a proposed initiative to bolster Europe’s defense capabilities in response to increasing security threats.
“The European Union is finally moving toward strengthening its collective defense and security, ensuring it can autonomously address threats,” he said. “There is a growing realization that defending all European borders -– land, air, and sea -– is vital to the continent’s overall security.”
Despite maintaining a lead in opinion polls, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has seen his approval ratings dip in recent weeks. He is preparing a Cabinet reshuffle in an effort to restore public confidence, as surveys indicate his government is losing support to fringe far-right parties.
A small left-wing party, Course for Freedom, boycotted Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony in protest of the government’s handling of the rail disaster.
University student Despoina Billia places candles on the ground next to a toy train set at a makeshift memorial for a deadly 2023 rail disaster, outside parliament where Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas was sworn in, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. The names of the victims are written in red paint on the ground, while the banner in the background reads "Coverup President - Tassoulas Unwanted." (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Outgoing Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, center right, and the new President Constantine Tassoulas, center left, stand for the national anthem during the handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Yannis Kolesidis/Pool via AP)
Outgoing Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, right, and the new President Constantine Tassoulas stand for the national anthem during the handover ceremony at the presidential palace in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Yannis Kolesidis/Pool via AP)
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, right, hugs the new President Constantine Tassoulas during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas stands during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, top center, takes an oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, center, takes an oath next to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronimos as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stands on the right during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas, top center, takes an oath during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's new President Constantine Tassoulas, right, takes an oath next to Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Ieronimos during the swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece's New President Constantine Tassoulas, left, thanks the members of Holy Synod, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stands next to him after his swearing in ceremony at the Parliament, in Athens, Greece, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of supporters of the Cockroach Janata Party, an online joke that drew millions across India, gathered for the first time in the national capital on Saturday, taking the social media movement off screens and into its biggest real-world test yet.
The protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, marks the movement’s first foray into street politics after weeks of dominating social media feeds and news headlines, attracting millions of online followers and widespread support among young Indians.
The immediate trigger for Saturday’s protest was reported irregularity in a recent exam that has dominated headlines in India, angering a large community of students.
Hundreds of mostly young Indians gathered in the heart of New Delhi’s protest zone near Parliament, some with placards and cockroach masks.
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement, joined the protest after he landed in the capital from the U.S. on Saturday morning. Police had laid steel barricades at arrivals at New Delhi’s international airport.
Dipke said in a social media post shortly after arriving that police granted permission to the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, to hold the protest, adding: “Cockroaches gather at Jantar Mantar.”
CJP organizers used social media to rally supporters for Saturday’s march, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demand grew out of an exam irregularity controversy in May that quickly became a broader outlet for frustration over India’s education system and limited job opportunities.
Supporters chanted slogans including, “Cockroaches are coming, Dharmendra Pradhan is going!” One placard read: “Waiting for exams that don’t leak.”
Participants were encouraged to bring India’s national flag and a book, which organizers said symbolized the right to education and equal opportunity for all. Organizers also urged demonstrators to remain peaceful and avoid any confrontations with police.
“Time to turn this tiny joke into a revolution,” the official CJP account on X posted Friday.
Mansi Sehgal, a 26-year-old protester, said the protests began around exam issues, but the deeper problem is that people haven’t had a space to speak up or ask questions. “CJP is doing that. So, this is literally the first thing that people can connect and ask questions,” she said.
“This is a long fight. We are seeing that’s it’s nearly a month that we are demanding (Pradhan’s) resignation,” Dipke said at the venue.
How many ultimately would join the protest remained unclear, making the event an early test of whether the movement can channel its online popularity into a broader grassroots support around growing frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and economic prospects.
The other main challenge would be how the party navigates the kind of pushback earlier protest movements have faced under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Over the past decade, authorities have sought to stamp out protests against his government, including demonstrations against a controversial citizenship legislation and yearlong farmers’ protests. Some protest movements also have faced legal action against organizers and activist arrests, which critics say reflects a broader effort by the government under Modi to suppress dissent.
But despite challenges, protesters expressed optimism for a change.
This is a youth first movement,” said Satya Prakash Yadav, a young student. “Youth is the future and we will ensure that our future is secure.”
The CJP emerged only three weeks ago to become an unlikely outlet for discontent among supporters who proudly call themselves “cockroaches.”
India’s Chief Justice Surya Kant likened critics and some unemployed youth to cockroaches during a May hearing, sparking backlash among frustrated young Indians. Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, used the insult as inspiration for a parody political party. Weeks after launching a website and social media accounts, CJP’s Instagram page has until now amassed more than 22 million followers.
The party has turned the cockroach into a wry badge of endurance and political articulation. Videos and memes lampooning unemployment, corruption and political dysfunction have drawn millions of views online. Parody CJP accounts also have adopted the cockroach as a political symbol and use memes, mock campaign slogans and satirical commentary.
The movement’s tongue-in-cheek messaging blends self-deprecating humor with political criticism. Supporters jokingly describe themselves as unemployed, perpetually online and shut out of meaningful influence. Beneath the humor lies a broader criticism of Modi’s government. CJP supporters argue that under Modi ordinary Indians, particularly young people, have been left with fewer opportunities.
Young people in India make up more than a quarter of the population but face limited job opportunities, rising unemployment and growing disillusionment with traditional politics. Many young voters also are critical of Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, citing concerns over rising religious polarization, widening inequality and mounting economic pressures.
The movement’s skeptics, particularly supporters of Modi’s party, dismiss the phenomenon as little more than a social-media gimmick. They argue the movement’s online popularity may not translate into street mobilization and that its rapid rise is likely fleeting.
The group’s rise echoes a similar trend across South Asia of youth movements born out of social media playing a central role in anti-government protests, including uprisings in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and unrest in Nepal.
Associated Press journalists Shonal Ganguly and Piyush Nagpal in New Delhi contributed to this report.
Abhijeet Dipke, right, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party addresses supporters during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Abhijeet Dipke, center, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party addresses supporters during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party wear and display masks during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Abhijeet Dipke, center, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party gestures as he manages the crowd during a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party shout slogans against the government during a protest in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A participant wears a cockroach mask as supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party gather for a protest demonstration in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Abhijeet Dipke, center, founder of Cockroach Janta Party shows the autobiography of Bhim Rao Ambedkar as he comes out at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Saurabh Das, center, spokesperson of Cockroach Janta Party waits for the arrival of Abhijeet Dipke, founder of CJP at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Abhijeet Dipke, center, founder of Cockroach Janta Party shows the autobiography of Bhim Rao Ambedkar as he comes out at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Abhijeet Dipke founder of Cockroach Janta Party shows the autobiography of Bhim Rao Ambedkar as he comes out at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Security personnel stand guard before the arrival of Abhijeet Dipke, founder of Cockroach Janta at Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi, India, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
