Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday announced the launch of a nationwide protest over alleged examination irregularities and demanded the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The protest will be accompanied by the release of an education manifesto later in the day. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is set to participate in the peaceful demonstration scheduled to begin in the evening at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) campus.
Peaceful protest within constitutional framework
Speaking at a press conference, Dipke emphasised that the protest would be peaceful and conducted within the framework of the Constitution. He stated that the manifesto focuses on preventing question paper leaks, ensuring timely declaration of examination results, improving transparency in recruitment and entrance examinations, strengthening accountability of examination authorities, and addressing student issues caused by delays and irregularities in examinations.
Nationwide expansion of the movement
The movement will start from Pune and expand to cities including Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad, before culminating in an indefinite peaceful sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 20. Dipke declared that the protest would continue until the education minister resigns, alleging that Pradhan is responsible for affecting more than one crore students due to repeated examination-related failures and irregularities.
Allegations of government suppression
Dipke also accused the government of suspending CJP's social media accounts and claimed a lack of dialogue from the authorities. He reiterated the group's openness to dialogue but stressed that the protest would persist until their demands are met. The group previously held a protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6, marking the beginning of their nationwide campaign.
Sonam Wangchuk's participation
The involvement of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk adds visibility to the demonstration, which forms part of a coordinated national campaign against alleged examination irregularities. The protest at SPPU campus is expected to draw significant attention as it officially launches the group's nationwide mobilisation.
