Delhi's Jantar Mantar saw hundreds of people turn up on Saturday to be part of a protest called by political satirical outfit Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to demand resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in several entrance and recruitment exams. During the protest, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who flew from the United States to join the demonstration, said that the protestors were not “scared”.
Dipke, who was studying at the US' Boston University, said that his mother was more worried and cried over his return than when he left for the US because she feared that he might get arrested upon arrival in India. Dipke had earlier also expressed his fear that he might get arrested if he comes to India after launching the CJP. However, while talking to the protestors, he delivered the message that the youth of the country was not “scared”.
"This is not just the fear of my mother, this is the fear of the parents of any youngster who speaks on politics.... How long will we live in fear? Tell them, we are not scared," Dipke said.
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He also said that right before landing at the Delhi airport on Saturday morning, he felt as though these were last few moments of freedom. "I was fully prepared to sacrifice my freedom for this cause," he said.
{{/usCountry}}He also said that right before landing at the Delhi airport on Saturday morning, he felt as though these were last few moments of freedom. "I was fully prepared to sacrifice my freedom for this cause," he said.
{{/usCountry}}However, upon his arrival, Dipke was not arrested and the Delhi Police granted the permission to hold the protest as well.
‘Youth not puppet’
On the other hand, without making a direct reference to the protest and the CJP, Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Nabin sought to take a veiled jibe at the movement and Dipke and said that the youth of India was not anyone's “puppet”.
In Ranchi, Nabin on Saturday said in an indirect reference to the CJP and its founder that "some people sitting abroad assume they can give directions to the youths of India."
"Today's youths want to work towards nation-building and secure their future. But some forces are trying to make the country's youths anti-establishment," he said.
He also issued a warning to those trying to the Indian youth towards “negative politics” that they will only choose “positive politics”.
Nabin also said that while people have the right to oppose, it must be done within democratic norms.
"The anti-establishment campaigns we witnessed in our neighbouring countries can never be for the country's youths, who will work in a disciplined manner to build the nation," the BJP chief said.
CJP protest to go nationwide?
After hours of sloganeering in punishing Delhi summers on Saturday, the protest was called off during the later half of the day, only for the organisers to give a one-week ultimatum to the government to either sack Dharmendra Pradhan or he gives voluntary resignation or the protest will extend nationwide.
“We are giving the government seven days. Either Dharmendra Pradhan should resign respectfully or Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him. If his resignation does not come within seven days, this movement will spread throughout the country,” said CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka.
"The time has come to reset our education system and we have started that reset today," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)