Members and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are staging a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday to demand the resignation of Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan. The claimed him to be “directly responsible” for the recent exam paper leaks in major national-level examinations across the country, including NEET.
The group’s founder Abhijeet Dipke arrived from the United States early Saturday, where the Police granted him permission to hold the protest at the site from 10 am to 5 pm. The Delhi Police have stepped up deployment across the national Capital, including outside the homes of VIPs — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister , and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has been targeted by the protesters.
The party was started as a satirical online movement after remarks made by Chief Justice Surya Kant during a hearing. CJI Kant compared a section of young unemployed youth with “fake law degrees” to cockroaches. The ‘satirical political movement’ has now received support from several public figures, including social activist Sonam Wangchuk and actor Prakash Raj.
Here’s all you need to know about Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest in Delhi today:
The CJP started out as a ‘satirical political page’ on social media. It has since amassed a huge following across India. Many celebrities, activists, and politicians, like Prakash Raj, Sonam Wangchuk, and Manish Sisodia among others are backing the party.
It was launched after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked: “There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, they don’t get any employment, they don’t have any place in profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists…”
So far, the CJP has not registered itself as a political party in India. However, its members are actively participating in the political discourse of the nation.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is holding a protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Union Minister of Education, Dharmendra Pradhan.
The group claims Pradhan to be “directly responsible” for the recent paper leaks of major national-level examinations across the country, including NEET, group’s spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka told The Indian Express on Saturday.
The protest in being held at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
Hundreds of protesters began to gather at the protest site since Saturday morning. Founder Dipke too reached the site at around 11 am, where he was greeted by slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Jai Bhim.’
Some police officials met Dipke at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport Terminal 3 upon his arrival from the United States, after he cleared immigration.
Soon after, the Delhi Police granted Dipke the permission to protest at the Jantar Mantar from 10 am to 5 pm.
About 2,000 police personnel have been deployed in the New Delhi district, with directions to avoid confrontation with the protesters and to try to keep them calm through persuasion, according to sources.
Police have also stepped up deployment outside the homes of VIPs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has been targeted by the protesters.
The core members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP): Investigative journalist Saurav Das, who has been appointed chief spokesperson, political researcher, author and filmmaker Vijeta Dahiya, and former McKinsey consultant and IIT Kanpur alumnus Ashutosh Ranka, are all present at the protest site.
Earlier this week, Das told reporters that activist Sonam Wangchuk will also join the protests. “We invite everyone from all political parties to be part of the protest,” PTI reported.
