Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke Wednesday shared an emotional post on Instagram, saying his mother broke down when he left home for protests in Delhi and Bengaluru against the Election Commission (EC) over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
He said his mother’s fears reflected the anxiety of families of those who have chosen to take to the streets and raise their voices.
Dipke left for Bengaluru to attend the People’s Tribunal on SIR and hold an interaction with local residents who were allegedly wrongfully removed from the voters’ list. On Thursday morning, he is scheduled to hold a ‘chappal protest’ at Freedom Park. On October 10, he is scheduled to hold a protest in Delhi and seek the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
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The CJP founder said his mother knew he was travelling from Bengaluru to Delhi and could see the fear in her eyes.
“As I left home today, Mom cried as if I was heading to a war zone,” Dipke said, adding that he reassured her that everything would be fine, even though he himself was uncertain about what the coming days would bring.
{{/usCountry}}“As I left home today, Mom cried as if I was heading to a war zone,” Dipke said, adding that he reassured her that everything would be fine, even though he himself was uncertain about what the coming days would bring.
{{/usCountry}}“I’m tired of seeing that fear in my mother’s eyes. Tired of giving her assurances when even I don’t know what the next few days will bring,” he added.
Dipke said his father was also silent when he left, appearing to wish that the family could return to the life they had three months ago.
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“The worried calls. The constant messages asking where you are. The fear they try not to show because they know how much this means to you,” Dipke said.
He assured all those willing to participate in the ongoing protests that they were not alone. “I just want you to know that you are not alone. None of us are. We are all in this together.”
Dipke said the larger objective should be to build a country where young people can raise their voices without their parents fearing for their safety. “I hope we can build an India where, someday, when our own children take to the streets to raise their voices, we won’t have to fear for their lives the way our parents fear for ours today,” he said.
In a direct appeal to parents, he acknowledged the difficult position they were in but urged them not to stop their children from participating. “We understand your fear. We know where it comes from. We know what we are putting you through,” he said.
In July, the CJP held a major protest at Jantar Mantar that received overwhelming support from Gen Z, leading to the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as Union education minister.