The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) held a five-hour protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in connection with the NEET paper leak case.
Party founder Abhijit Dipke stated that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign by 5 p.m. today, or protests will be held across the country. They will again protest at Jantar Mantar next Saturday, June 13th.
The CJI had received permission to protest at Jantar Mantar until 5 p.m. today, but it ended at 3:30 p.m. after Abhijit’s health deteriorated. He subsequently left the protest site with Sonam Wangchuk.
Abhijit returned to Delhi from the United States this morning. He went straight to Jantar Mantar from the airport. He arrived with Ambedkar’s autobiography and a copy of the Constitution.
Abhijit Dipke arrived at Delhi International Airport from the United States in the morning. He left the airport an hour and a half later.
Abhijit left for Jantar Mantar with CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, carrying an autobiography of Ambedkar. Abhijit arrived at Jantar Mantar at 10:30 a.m. He was welcomed by supporters and then interacted with the crowd.
Between 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., Dipke delivered five short speeches to his supporters. During this time, slogans demanding “Dharmendra Pradhan resign” were raised. At 3:30 p.m., Dipke’s health deteriorated. He was then placed in a vehicle. The protest was called off after his departure. He left with Sonam Wangchuk.
Social activist Sonam Wangchuk, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI leader Annie Raja, and activists from left-wing student and youth organizations were also present at the protest. Social activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the Cockroach Janata Party’s protest. CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka was also present with him. Ashutosh is a graduate of IIT Kanpur and returned to India from London last year.
In view of the CJP protest, security was increased at Indira Gandhi Airport, the main railway station, the bus station, and Delhi’s border points. More than 1,000 police personnel were deployed at pre-determined points. Instructions were given to maintain law and order in markets and sensitive areas.
Abhijit said, “The Cockroach Janata Party is adamant on its demand. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign.” He has given Dharmendra a five-day ultimatum to resign. He stressed that if the Cockroach Janata Party’s demands are not met, another protest will be held at Jantar Mantar on June 13th.
Regarding today’s Cockroach Janata Party event, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) chief Uddhav Thackeray said that it is wrong to insult the youth by calling them cockroaches. Now these youth are raising their voices for their demands, and the government will have to listen to them.
Akhilesh Yadav shared a video of the CJP protest. He wrote, “This voice should reach the arrogant rulers; now the youth have also started a revolution.”
NCP (SP) general secretary Rohit Pawar said that the support the CJP is receiving shows that anger is growing among the country’s youth regarding the central government’s policies and alleged negligence in the main examinations.
Abhijeet, 30, is a digital media strategist from Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra. Abhijeet studied journalism from Pune and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in public relations at Boston University in the United States.
Abhijeet was the social media strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from 2020 to 2022. During the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, Abhijeet created viral meme-based online campaign material for the AAP. On the account “X,” Abhijeet frequently targeted the central government and the Prime Minister on political issues ranging from the farmers’ protests to inflation.