The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday warned of a fresh round of nationwide protests, with national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka saying the government would witness an agitation "like never before" if any action was taken against senior leader Aishe Ghosh.
Ranka's warning came a day after the CJP accused the government of violating the understanding reached during talks that led to the suspension of its 36-day protest over the NEET paper leak.
"If anything happens to Aishe Ghosh, the government will see a protest like never before. Stop harassing our team. Honour your words," Ranka wrote in a post on X.
The post follows the CJP's repeated announcements that its volunteers and supporters continue to face arrests and police action despite what it says was a commitment by the Centre to withdraw cases and refrain from filing fresh FIRs against protesters.
CJP says government has not honoured agreement
{{/usCountry}}The post follows the CJP's repeated announcements that its volunteers and supporters continue to face arrests and police action despite what it says was a commitment by the Centre to withdraw cases and refrain from filing fresh FIRs against protesters.
CJP says government has not honoured agreement
{{/usCountry}}At a press conference on Monday, Ashutosh Ranka said the issue was discussed during the third round of talks with the government on July 25, before the protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar was called off.
"In the third round of talks, we had agreed that all FIRs filed against protesters and organisers across the country would be withdrawn and no new FIR would be filed against any organiser and protester in future," he said.
According to Ranka, the CJP submitted a draft agreement to Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, and the government had agreed to share a written version of the understanding by Tuesday after legal consultations.
"We are waiting for the government to share the written agreement. We hope a senior Cabinet minister will honour the agreement and the FIRs will be withdrawn, no protester or organiser would be harassed, and no cases would be filed in future," he said.
However, Ranka alleged in another post on X that the government had breached the understanding, claiming that "hundreds of students" had been arrested in Bihar and West Bengal while volunteers were being detained or harassed in Delhi and other states.
Tagging Nadda and Singh, he demanded the immediate withdrawal of all FIRs, release of arrested students and an assurance that no future cases would be registered by Delhi Police, central agencies or police in BJP-ruled or BJP-allied states.
'Forced to protest again'
The CJP said it would restart its agitation if the written agreement was not shared and those arrested during the protests were not released.
"If the written agreement is not received by Tuesday and protesters arrested in connection with the agitation are not released, we will be forced to protest again," Ranka said.
The outfit has maintained that it suspended its protest in good faith after the government accepted its principal demands and promised to implement the remaining commitments within an agreed timeline.
Kapil Sibal announces legal aid fund
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who addressed the same press conference, said no legal action should be taken against students who participated in what he described as an "organic protest".
"We don't want action to be taken against students who protested. It was an organic movement," Sibal said.
He announced a ₹1 crore contribution to establish a nationwide legal assistance network for students and protesters facing criminal cases.
Sibal said the CJP would create a platform where lawyers from across the country could register to provide pro bono legal representation.
He also alleged that protesters were being selectively targeted after the agitation ended, claiming police were using facial recognition technology to identify participants.
CJP launches legal, evidence portals
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the organisation had remained in touch with Sibal before and after ending the agitation to ensure students were not targeted through litigation.
He announced that the CJP would launch a nationwide legal assistance portal connecting students with volunteer lawyers. Another platform, named "Sakshi", has also been launched to collect videos, photographs and testimonies related to alleged police excesses during the protests.
"Police officers and Rapid Action Force personnel who came with the intention of beating protesters will be held accountable. If people have videos or photographs, they should upload them on the portal, and our legal team will take the matter forward," Das said.
CJP spokesperson Ratna Singh alleged that detained protesters were already receiving legal assistance in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar. She claimed that 11 people had been arrested in Kolkata, while stringent provisions were likely to be invoked against some protesters. She also alleged that attempt to murder charges had been filed in Bihar and around 5,000 unnamed persons had been booked in connection with the protests.
The CJP called off its 36-day agitation at Jantar Mantar after announcing that the government had accepted its key demands, including the resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, withdrawal of FIRs, an assurance against retaliatory action and consideration of broader examination reforms. The organisation has since maintained that it is awaiting a written agreement from the government and has warned that failure to honour the understanding could trigger another nationwide protest.