Dipke back home, warns of bigger agitation against 'police excesses'

Dipke has warned the Centre of a “bigger” agitation as protesters continue to face police action and the opposition demands accountability from Amit Shah.

Four days after the nation-wide student protest ended, Abhijeet Dipke fired another salvo at the BJP-led NDA government. Condemning the crackdown on young protestors, Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) that led the agitation, said everyone responsible for using pellet guns, AK-47 rifles and batons on the young protestors must be held accountable, including Union home minister Amit Shah. If the authorities didn’t stop harassing the protestors, he warned, they would face an agitation “bigger than the last one”.

Abhijeet Dipke warned of an agitation "bigger than the last one" if Home Minister Amit Shah does not take up accountability for the use of police brutality and protestors aren't spared of a government crackdown. (PTI)

To drive home the point, Dipke said he would deliver his message to the central leadership in the only language they would understand. “They should remember that every student beaten with a lathi or hit by pellet guns belongs to a family with at least four votes.

Those families will vote against them in the upcoming elections. Mend your ways, or the students will force you to mend them. Modi (Prime minister Narendra Modi) and Shah understand the language of votes, which is why I am reminding them in their own language,” said Dipke, addressing the media on arriving in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, his hometown, on Wednesday..

Dipke speaks to media after returning home

He said AK-47 rifles were once used against terrorists, but the government had now turned them on students. “This is deeply disturbing,” he said.

Dipke also addressed the alleged continued harassment of students by the police across the country, saying the agitation may have ended but the youth are still angry. “If the FIRs (against students) are not withdrawn, we will restart the agitation.

The government must understand that the students’ anger has not diminished. If they believe (former Union education minister) Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation alone will calm them, they are mistaken. The students are deeply angry, and if necessary, another protest will take place, and it will be even bigger than the last one,” said Dipke.