‘Today was just a trailer’: Dipke heads home to reunite with parents after protest at Jantar Mantar

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke said he was heading home to meet his parents for the first time in more than a year and bring them back to their home after they were allegedly forced to leave due to threats.

‘Tell them we are not scared’: Dipke at CJP rally

"My friends, this is a long struggle. It has been a month since we started demanding Pradhan's resignation on social media, but these individuals are so shameless that instead of taking action, they have been focussed on other distractions, like hacking our accounts and getting our posts deleted. You may be able to delete our posts, but you cannot erase us from this space," Dipke said during his address to the crowd, which energetically supported his words.

Recalling his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier in the morning, Dipke said just before his plane was about to land, he felt as though he was living his last moments of freedom. "I was fully prepared to sacrifice my freedom for this cause," he said.

The CJP founder claimed that many people have compromised themselves and "sold out" due to the fear of imprisonment. "Lekin is desh ka chatra, yuva nahi bika hai (The youth and students of this country have not sold themselves)," he said amid loud cheers from the crowd.

Uddhav Thackeray urges Centre to hear voices of youth at Jantar Mantar protest

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the Centre must listen to the youth who are protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi seeking the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam-related lapses and should not underestimate them.

In a post on Facebook, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut put out Thackeray's message which said youth are the future of the country and they are protesting in scorching heat. It is improper to deny them justice and address them as "cockroach".

The NEET paper leak has destroyed lives of lakhs of youth and they are protesting, the former Maharashtra chief minister said.

"The government has to listen the voice of youth and should not underestimate the cockroach. The is the signal given by the protestors at Jantar Mantar," Thackeray said.

Students, parents join CJP rally over education concern

School students, college-goers, competitive exam aspirants and parents were among those who gathered at Jantar Mantar here on Saturday for a protest organised by the supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), with many saying concerns over the education system had brought them to the demonstration.

The crowds that started assembling from Saturday morning, kept swelling through the day.

Several participants who spoke to PTI said recurring controversies around examinations, uncertainty over results and a lack of accountability from authorities have shaken their confidence in the system. Some also expressed disappointment with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as well as the opposition parties, saying issues affecting young people are not receiving adequate attention.

Parents accompanying children said the concerns extend beyond students.

Nusrat Parveen, who attended the protest with her three daughters, said she has seen the pressure students face while preparing for competitive examinations.

"My children are worried about their future and as a parent, I feel that pressure too," she said.

Her daughters, Razda, a graduation student, and Iqra, who is in Class 11, said concerns over examinations and admissions have become a constant topic among students. "Education has become a way of earning money," Razda said, while Iqra spoke of the uncertainty that lies ahead.

Their sister, Zikra Parveen, said students often map out their future plans based on expected results, only to be confronted with fresh uncertainty. "We had calculated our scores and were thinking about colleges. Then we learnt that the paper was cancelled," she said.

For some participants, the issues go beyond examinations and reflect broader concerns about opportunities available to youngsters.

Vaishali, who works with an NGO in Delhi, said India frequently speaks about its demographic dividend but is not adequately addressing the concerns of its youth.

"We have the highest number of youngsters, but their issues are not being addressed. We need constructive change," she said.

Sabrina, a law student from Kashmir who attended the protest with her younger brother, said she had come to support students raising their concerns. "If more people raise their voice together, it is more likely to be heard," she said.

Many participants also framed their concerns in political terms, saying they are dissatisfied with the existing parties.

Saurabh Gurjar, who travelled from Gwalior by bus to take part in the protest, said young people are increasingly looking for alternatives.

"What is happening with students is wrong. Those who study are left behind, while those who pay money get through," he alleged, adding that he would support the CJP if it eventually enters electoral politics.

Krishna, a resident of Saket, said he does not identify with any political party and is more interested in seeing governments address people's concerns.

"I support the voice of people. I do not have hope from either side at the moment," he said, adding that many citizens appear to be searching for new issue-based platforms.

‘They said cockroaches would never come on the ground’: Dipke

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, while pointing to the turnout at the demonstration, said, “They said cockroaches would never come on the ground...” 

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar extends support to CJP protest

NCP(SP) general secretary Rohit Pawar on Saturday extended support to the agitation led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) against alleged irregularities in the NEET and CBSE examinations.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the online movement, participated in a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday, which was held under heavy security and joined by scores of youth.

In a statement, Pawar said the overwhelming response to the protest reflected growing resentment among the country's youth against the Centre's policies and the alleged mismanagement of key examinations.

"The unprecedented participation of young people in the agitation shows the simmering discontent among the youth. The irregularities in the NEET and CBSE examinations, along with several wrong policies of the Central government, have directly affected the younger generation and triggered widespread anger," he said.

Wangchuk and Dipke share stage at Jantar Mantar, seek Pradhan’s resignation

  Sonam Wangchuk and Abhijeet Dipke at Jantar Mantar together demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.  

‘We want the system to hear us’: Hope runs high at CJP protest in Delhi

CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya joined the CJP demonstration

CPI(ML) liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya joined the Cockroach Janta Party's youth protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi

6 detained during CJP protest at Jantar Mantar

Six people were detained by the Delhi Police on Saturday to prevent a possible confrontation between two groups during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar, officials said.

The detentions were made as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order after police received inputs about the possibility of tensions between supporters and opposers of the online movement, they said.

Officials noted that the preventive detentions were made to help ensure the demonstration concluded peacefully without any major law-and-order issues.

The protest, led by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, drew hundreds of participants, mostly students and young professionals, who gathered at Jantar Mantar demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests.

Officials stated that the six individuals were taken into preventive custody when they were found attempting to create a disturbance near the protest site. Fortunately, the situation remained under control, and no incidents were reported.

Sonam Wangchuk arrives at Jantar Mantar to join CJP protest

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk reached Jantar Mantar on Saturday to join members of the Cockroach Janta Party during a protest gathering in the capital. 

‘How Long Will We Live in Fear?’ says Abhijeet Dipke

Abhijeet Dipke said his mother had been deeply worried that he could be jailed because of his political activism and criticism of the government.

“My mother was very scared that this government would throw me in jail. In this country, every mother feels this fear when their child raises their voice against this government,” Dipke said.

“How long will we live in fear of this government?” he asked. 

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das offers red roses to security personnel deployed at protest

In a gesture of goodwill at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Cockroach Janata Party spokesperson Saurav Das offered red roses to security personnel deployed at the protest site and urged police to keep anti-social elements away. He later said officers had assured the protesters of their full cooperation.

Dipke criticised government for focusing on social media activity rather than addressing CJP's demands

Amid protests by Cockroach Janta Party members at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, founder Abhijeet Dipke criticised the government for focusing on the organisation's social media activity rather than addressing their demands, which include education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests.

Abhijeet Dipke: 'Did Hindu-Muslim politics get jobs for anyone in the country?'

“For the past 10-12 years, these people have kept us trapped in Hindu-Muslim politics—who benefited from this? Did Hindu-Muslim politics get jobs for anyone in the country," says Abhijeet Dipke at the CJP protest. 

'Real cockroaches are in politics, administration' : CJP supporter

"Real cockroaches are in politics, administration," a CJP supporter told The Telegraph Online. 

Another protester at the Cockroach Janata Party protest lamented that  students spends hours studying for these exams and tries to score through merit but what is the point to any of that effort and struggle if the paper has to be leaked at the end of the day.

Protest gains momentum with placards demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation

Cockroach Janata Party protest gains momentum with massive sloganeering and placards demanding education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. Many in the crowd were seen distributing and wearing cockroach masks to hide their identity and participate in the protest.

Supporters of Cockroach Janta Party express anger at Jantar Mantar protests

Supporters of Cockroach Janta Party expressed their anger against Dharmendra Pradhan at Jantar Mantar protests.

You can remove our social media posts, but not us: CJP founder Dipke at Jantar Mantar

 Abhijeet Dipke criticised the government for focusing on the organisation's social media activity rather than addressing their demands, which include education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests.

Dipke participated in a planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Saturday, which was held under heavy security and joined by scores of youth.

"My friends, this is a long struggle. It has been a month since we started demanding Pradhan's resignation on social media, but these individuals are so shameless that instead of taking action, they have been focused on other distractions, like hacking our accounts and getting our posts deleted. You may be able to delete our posts, but you cannot erase us from this space," Dipke stated during his address to the crowd, which energetically supported his words.

He also mentioned that activist Sonam Wangchuk would be joining the protest shortly and thanked him for his support.

Recalling his arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport that morning, Dipke said that just before his flight was about to land, he felt as though he was living his last moments of freedom. "I was fully prepared to sacrifice my freedom for this cause," he said.

The CJP founder claimed that many people have compromised themselves and 'sold out' due to the fear of imprisonment. "Lekin is desh ka chatra, yuva nahi bika hai (The youth and students of this country have not sold themselves)," he said amid loud cheers from the crowd.

Abhijeet Dipke takes part in Jantar Mantar protests

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke was seen taking part in the protest under way at Jantar Mantar.