Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday announced a nationwide public outreach campaign, Kya Bolti Public, saying the initiative aims to understand 'people's issues'.
Dipke said the campaign's first focus would be education, arguing that rising school, college and coaching fees have made quality education unaffordable for many families.
He was addressing a press conference after the conclusion of the CJP's core team meeting in his hometown Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra. The core team had been holding talks at Dipke's residence since Wednesday.
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"Education reform will be our first issue that we are going to take up. We believe education has become unaffordable in the country. Annual fees are in the range of ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh for Class 1, over and above the donation money," he said.
Questioning how middle- and lower-income families manage such costs, Dipke said, "From where the families bring the money who do not have that much income."
{{/usCountry}}Questioning how middle- and lower-income families manage such costs, Dipke said, "From where the families bring the money who do not have that much income."
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Dipke flags soaring education costs
He further alleged that escalating college and coaching fees were pushing families into debt and said the party wanted to ease that financial burden.
"College fees and coaching fees are also becoming too high, bringing families into the burden of loans. We want to free families from this. The parents should not feel burdened if they want to give higher education to their children," he said.
Dipke also cited BR Ambedkar while stressing that education should remain accessible.
"It is a fundamental right, according to Dr BR Ambedkar, but in the last few years, it has turned as education is a fundamental business to gain business," he said.
Dipke said the response to the recent Jantar Mantar protest went beyond concerns over NEET or the education system, and reflected growing public anger against the political system.
"The response to the Jantar Mantar protest was not limited to NEET or for the education system per se. It was against the entire system created in the last few years," he said.
He alleged that people were increasingly losing faith in democratic institutions, claiming that voters often see elected representatives switch parties after elections.
He also questioned the neutrality of the judiciary, alleging that rulings increasingly favour the ruling party while ordinary citizens struggle to get timely hearings.
"The judicial decisions are coming and have created questions about their neutrality. The way more decisions come in the favour of ruling parties, a common man does not get early hearing, he continues to get dates. In contrast, when a big businessman approaches court, he gets urgent hearing and quick verdict," he said.
Dipke further alleged that courts acted swiftly in matters involving political parties but were slow to deliver justice in cases involving ordinary citizens.
"The court immediately gives a verdict on splitting parties and induction of MLAs from one party to another, but the same court does not have time when the common man wants justice. This has created a big question on the integrity and neutrality of the courts," he said.a