The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is getting ready for another round of street action. “Season 2 of Jantar-Mantar” would start very soon, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Wednesday.
The reference to ‘Season 1’ points back to the massive student-led agitation at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar last month. The demonstrations over exam paper leaks, student suicides and calls for educational reform turned up enough heat to force Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as education minister. The CJP then announced it would continue as a pressure group to hold democratic institutions accountable.
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“Many people were commenting on Instagram when Season 2 of 'Jantar-Mantar' will begin. I want to tell them that Season 2 of 'Jantar-Mantar' is going to start very soon,” Dipke said.
CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said Dipke’s “Jantar Mantar Season 2” remark was not limited to another protest at the Delhi venue. “This itself is Season 2," Saurav Das told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said Dipke’s “Jantar Mantar Season 2” remark was not limited to another protest at the Delhi venue. “This itself is Season 2," Saurav Das told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}"Protests are taking place across the country against such incompetent governments and officers. On behalf of CJP, we are now embarking on a nationwide 'listening tour' to hear what the public has to say. We will run a campaign, and we are prioritising the issue of education starting from Independence Day,” he added.
Dipke's ‘pressure from above’ claim
Dipke on Wednesday alleged that the party struggled to find a venue for its volunteers’ meet in Delhi. He claimed several hall owners refused to rent space because of “pressure from above” and blamed the BJP.
“We were scheduled to hold our volunteers' meet in Delhi today. We were looking for a hall, but no one would rent us one. Everyone kept saying there was pressure from above," Dipke told reporters.
He said the party eventually managed to secure a hall after considerable difficulty and had a receipt to prove the booking. The venue owners were threatened, though, on the morning of the meeting, he said.
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“We had managed to secure this hall with great difficulty. We even have the receipt for it. However, the owners received threats this morning. They were told that if they allowed the CJP meeting to take place here, they would be hung upside down.”
Dipke blamed the BJP for the alleged pressure and said the incident showed that the party was uneasy about the growing youth movement.
“All of this is being done by the BJP. Their actions and words clearly reveal that they are afraid of the country's youth. If they think such petty actions will frighten us, they are sorely mistaken.”
The allegations could not be independently verified by HT.
CJP zeroes in on government schools
Dipke made these remarks as his party, that launched as a satirical digital front, looks beyond the protests that first put them on the map.
On Wednesday, he announced that the party would launch its “School Thik Karo” campaign on Independence Day, August 15, to push for better basic facilities in government schools in villages.
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“Kids in villages shouldn’t be pleading for basic facilities at school after 80 years of Independence.”
“As a country, we have failed rural kids in the worst possible way. This Independence Day, CJP will launch the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign to improve Govt schools in villages,” he said on X.
Saurav Das, on X, said, "The manner in which the governments have ignored our schools is unacceptable. It’s time we FIX them. ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign."
The campaign is expected to begin from Dipke’s village in Hingoli, Maharashtra, with the CJP founder calling on sarpanches, parents and local residents to take up responsibility for improving school infrastructure.
CJP lands support to Gen Alpha protest in UP
Earlier this week, the CJP backed a ‘Gen Alpha’ protest in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur. School children marched to the Collectorate and blocked its main gate over a badly damaged road connecting their villages to schools.
CJP's Das praised the children, while Dipke also backed their demand.
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“Salute to these kids who are fighting for their future! All they are asking for is a road to their school. Is that too much to ask after nearly 80 years of Independence? This should have been done decades ago. This 15th August, let’s pledge to work for the children and schools of rural India,” Dipke wrote on X.
CJP has also launched the ‘Kya Bolti Public’ listening campaign to gather public concerns across the country, with education identified as its first priority.