The principal of a local Zilla Parishad school in Maharashtra's Hingoli district has been removed from his post following sit-in protests led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and local villagers as part of their "Fix Our Schools" campaign, claimed CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
In a video message on Tuesday, Dipke, who was seen sitting with villagers, announced that the principal had been suspended and called it a “big win.”
He dedicated the victory to Abdul and his father, who was killed in an alleged attack after they inspected a local government school in West Bengal.
Deep Dive
What led to the removal of the principal at the Zilla Parishad school in Hingoli?
What is the objective of the 'School Theek Karo' campaign started by Abhijeet Dipke?
How did the local government respond to the issues highlighted by the 'School Theek Karo' campaign?
Dipke claimed that the now-removed principal used to arrive at the school in an intoxicated state and he was sitting in protest to demand his removal.
{{/usCountry}}Dipke claimed that the now-removed principal used to arrive at the school in an intoxicated state and he was sitting in protest to demand his removal.
{{/usCountry}}He added that the Cockroach Janata Party has also demanded the recruitment of more teachers in the school and benches for students, adding that the protests will continue until the demands are met.
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"The school principal here used to come drunk to the school. We have been protesting, demanding the principal's removal. I have been informed that the principal has been removed from his post. We are also demanding the recruitment of two more teachers. The villagers here will continue to protest until their demand is fulfilled," Dipke told ANI news agency.
“School Theek Karo” campaign
This comes as Dipke and his team launched the “School Theek Karo” campaign on August 15. He began the campaign with a visit to a government school in his native village of Santuk Pimpri in Hingoli district of Maharashtra.
During his inspection, he found multiple discrepancies in the school, including, poor water supply, lack of drinking water, benches, dirty washrooms and broken windows as some of the issues troubling the students.
However, soon after his visit, the local gram panchayat ordered repair works at the government school, news agency PTI reported. Santuk Pimpri Sarpanch Vijay Puri said damaged windows and defunct CCTV cameras are being changed.
‘Season 2 of Jantar Mantar’
The launch follows Dipke’s earlier announcement that the CJP would begin "Season 2 of Jantar Mantar", after its 37-day protest at Jantar Mantar was withdrawn on July 25 following the resignation of then union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“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.
"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.