CJP has given the Rajasthan government 48 hours to arrest those accused of attacking its volunteers during the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign.
CJP has linked its demand for the education minister’s resignation to the alleged attack and the condition of government schools.
BJP leaders have rejected the allegations, accusing CJP of disrupting education efforts and alleging Congress involvement behind the organisation.
Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar is at the centre of a political controversy after the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) demanded his resignation following an alleged assault on its volunteers in Jaipur.
The CJP has given the Rajasthan government 48 hours to arrest those accused of attacking its volunteers during an inspection under its ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign. CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka warned of a statewide agitation if the alleged attackers were not arrested and said the party would also demand Dilawar’s resignation.
The alleged incident took place when CJP volunteers visited a government school in Rampura-Kanwarpura village, which Ranka claimed had been operating from a buffalo shed for several years. He alleged that BJP workers had gathered at the site before the CJP team arrived and later attacked the volunteers.
Ranka alleged that stones were thrown at the team, vehicle windows were smashed and phones were broken. He also claimed that a woman was assaulted, his shirt was torn and one volunteer suffered a fractured hand. The allegations could not be independently verified.
Who Is Madan Dilawar?
Dilawar, born in 1959 into a poor Dalit family in Baran, began his political journey through the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which he joined in 1978, according to ThePrint.
He went on to become president of the Bajrang Dal’s Kota unit and joined the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1990. That year, he won his first Rajasthan Assembly election from the reserved Baran-Atru seat and retained it in 1993, 1998 and 2003.
Dilawar later lost Baran-Atru to Congress in 2008. In 2018, he contested from Ramganj Mandi and has retained the seat since.
He has served as a minister three times, including under former chief ministers Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Vasundhara Raje, and in the present Bhajanlal Sharma government.
Why CJP Seeking His Resignation?
The immediate demand follows the alleged attack on CJP volunteers, but the confrontation is linked to the organisation’s campaign on the condition of government schools.
Ranka accused the BJP of attacking the team and demanded that the alleged attackers be arrested within 48 hours. He said the party would then expand its demands to include Dilawar’s resignation.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said he would travel to Jaipur for a sit-in protest if the government failed to initiate school repairs and arrest those accused of the attack.
The BJP has rejected the allegations. Rajasthan minister Jawahar Singh Bedham accused Congress workers of operating behind the CJP, while minister Avinash Gehlot described the organisation as an “anarchic” group.
Dilawar has previously faced controversies over decisions concerning schools and teachers. ThePrint reported that he had ordered Surya Namaskar in schools and suspended and transferred teachers over various issues.
