Dipke to visit Jharkhand to back student protest, says Wangchuk remains CJP's 'mentor'

Dipke said the collective would focus on holding institutions accountable while expanding its campaign to issues such as unemployment and the E20 fuel policy.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday said the online collective would continue to function as a pressure group rather than go down the political route, even as he emphasised that the country needs a strong independent group to hold institutions accountable.

Abhijeet Dipke, head of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) speaks during an interview at his home in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, (REUTERS)

“For now, CJP will continue to function as a pressure group,” he told reporters.

Dipke also announced that the CJP would travel to Jharkhand to support the ongoing students’ movement, and clarified that Sonam Wangchuk would continue to serve as their mentor.

The remarks came as the CJP began its two-day core committee meeting to deliberate on its future strategy, organisational expansion and the key public issues it plans to take up in the coming months. The first day of the conclave took place at Dipke’s residence in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Among the issues on the CJP’s agenda are the declining public trust in democratic institutions, the controversial ethanol-blended fuel (E20) policy and rising unemployment. “Today, people have lost faith in key democratic institutions, whether political parties, the media, the judiciary or the EC” Dipke said.