I Will Protest in Multiple States and Cities if Pradhan Doesn't Resign: CJP Founder Dipke

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has said he will stage protests in various states and cities in the country if Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not resign by June 13 over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests.

Asked about recent Gen Z protests in Nepal and Bangladesh, Dipke stressed on Sunday that the CJP movement has been peaceful and cannot be compared with demonstrations that occurred in the neighbouring countries. The CJP is exclusively for Gen Z, and it won't be associated with any political party, he asserted.

The Cockroach Janata Party conducted an agitation at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 6, demanding the resignation of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged paper leak cases in the country.

In a video posted on X on Sunday night, Dipke said, "Earlier I said that if Dharmendra Pradhan does not resign till Saturday (June 13), the agitation will go on a wider scale. Going in that direction, if Pradhan won’t resign, I will personally go to different cities and states and undertake protests with a demand for his resignation." He also spoke about plans for the next phase of agitation in the national capital. "If Dharmendra Pradhan doesn't resign even after protests in states, we will not have any option but to agitate again. Students from various corners of the country will then come together in New Delhi and agitate peacefully." "We will not stop till Pradhan resigns. He should take moral responsibility for ruining the future of over one crore students," Dipke said.

Earlier, at a press conference here, Dipke said the CJP movement, which began as an online satirical platform over the "cockroach" terminology, cannot be equated with agitations that had taken place in some neighbouring countries.

He was asked if he thinks the "revolution" that took place in neighbouring countries due to Gen Z can also take place in India.

"I don't want to compare (the agitation) with neighbouring countries because here (in India) there is a system. But a narrative is going on to compare with what has happened in Bangladesh and Nepal. They also say that we want to wreak havoc in the country," Dipke replied.

"Those who compare our movement with the ones that occurred in neighbouring countries should know that the Jantar Mantar agitation was very peaceful, though it was crowded. Youths who attended the agitation came from all corners of the country. Henceforth, even bigger protests will take place, and they will also be peaceful," he added.

Birthed as an online campaign in May, the CJP, which garnered over 22 million followers on Instagram, had exhorted youths to take part in the protest in the national capital on Saturday over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, in an apparent show of strength.

At Jantar Mantar, protesters, armed with posters demanding Pradhan's resignation, wore cockroach masks.

Besides seeking the education minister's resignation, the demonstrators also raised slogans demanding that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stop indulging in "Hindu-Muslim" politics, and hailed the motherland with "Bharat Mata ki Jai" slogans.