Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday claimed that orders to use force against students during the July 20 “Sansad Chalo” march must have come from Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought his resignation over the police crackdown.
Talking to reporters at his residence in hometown Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra, he said democracy was in “danger” in the country and questions were being raised even on the judiciary, while central probe agencies were being used to break political parties.
“Saving democracy is not merely an Opposition issue now. The people of the country will have to come together (to save it),” insisted Dipke on his return home after more than a month-long CJP-led protest in New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar over the NEET exam paper leak, which culminated in the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.
“We all have seen how ED and CBI were used to break parties like the Shiv Sena and the NCP. The big institutions in the country had a duty to keep democracy alive and not create dictatorship of a single man. They let it happen. To stop this, not only the Opposition, but even the people will have to come together,” he said.
The 30-year-old activist criticised the appointment of Pralhad Joshi as new education minister and called him a “weird” man. “If the education minister of the country applauds rapists, this means another weird man has been brought in after removing Pradhan. What message is being given to the country? They cannot do anything else because their party is full of goons. People like Ram Rahim, a rape convict, come out on parole during their tenure. This government supports goons and rapists,” he alleged.
Asked about Yoga guru and entrepreneur Ramdev's comments that Gen Z, which led the stir at Jantar Mantar, has defamed India’s culture, Dipke advised him to look after the business of his company Patanjali Ayurved.
The CJP founder insisted that his outfit’s protest over the NEET paper leak was constitutional. “We have fought for our rights against the paper leak in a constitutional way. If agitating with photos of Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar in a legal way is defaming culture, we have done it. Baba Ramdev should look into Patanjali, about which the Supreme Court has made adverse comments in the past,” he said.
“Gen Z can handle the country and its culture well. Ramdev should concentrate on Patanjali, else it may go out of business,” Dipke remarked.
CJP founder takes on Amit Shah
Supporting the demand for Amit Shah’s resignation made by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Dipke said, “Amit Shah should definitely resign. There is another thing being said: that the Cockroach Janta Party is receiving funding from outside or that the movement is being run from outside. If this is happening, it reflects the failure of a person like Amit Shah. If the CJP is being run from outside then what kind of 'Chanakya' is he?”
Vows to support farmers
Dipke assured he will stand with farmers if they need the CJP’s support in their agitations. “Farmers also want their children to have successful careers. They stood with us in our agitation. If farmer leaders require our support, we will stand with them. Wherever farmers need us, we will stand with them. I also belong to a farmer family. Many of us are from farmer families,” he stated.
Dipke said the police force in the country should not follow BJP orders, but go by the Constitution. “If not, they should switch to ‘khaki chaddi’ and stand before the BJP headquarters, saying ‘main bhi chowkidar’,” the CJP said mockingly.
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