Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday declared support for protesting students in Jharkhand, stating the youth movement will operate as a “pressure group” to demand institutional accountability.
Talking to reporters ahead of the CJP’s core team meeting in his hometown Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, Dipke said CJP members will travel to Jharkhand to back job aspirants, who have been staging an indefinite sit-in at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi since July 29.
“People have lost faith in the judiciary, politics, media and the Election Commission. Our agitation received nationwide support. As the agitation grew, the support was not merely limited to education issues; it was also about these institutions. Hence, to bring accountability in these institutions, there is a need for a public pressure group,” Dipke said. A large number of job aspirants have been staging a protest in Ranchi, demanding that the alleged irregularities in the JPSC and other recruitment examinations be investigated by an independent panel of retired HC judges from outside Jharkhand.
Dipke said, “We will definitely go to Jharkhand, we will stand with them and support their every demand in the agitation.”
On whether the CJP will enter politics, Dipke said the media seemed more excited than the outfit.
The condition of political parties is “very bad”. People vote for one side in the morning, but by evening a government is formed by someone else, he quipped.
“For now, CJP will be a pressure group, as what India needs now is a pressure group,” Dipke asserted.
On the CJP’s core team meeting, Dipke said, “The agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi drew a nationwide response. The responsibility on us has increased, and people’s expectations from us have grown. In this meeting, we will decide how the organisation should grow and also outline a rough road map for the future.”
He said the meeting will focus on the dwindling trust of people in institutions like the media and judiciary and also take up issues like ethanol-blended fuel and rising unemployment.
Dipke was seen serving tea not only to visitors, but also to police personnel deployed for security.
During the CJP meeting, he continued to meet visitors and arranged tea for everyone before personally distributing it.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said environmentalist and education activist Sonam Wangchuk will continue to be their mentor, and they will seek advice from him.
Das added they will push for withdrawal of FIRs against students who took part in the recent protests led by the CJP against the NEET paper leak and other exam irregularities.
“We are talking with government representatives on this issue,” he said, adding that the CJP is working to provide legal and medical assistance to protesters injured in the recent students’ agitations across India.
