Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP and chief Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Thursday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) chief Abhijeet Dipke in the United States before the latter visited India.
Tweeting a photograph which supposedly depicts PM Modi with Dipke, Sanjay Raut said, “Somebody has sent me a photograph of a meeting which took place between Abhijeet Dipke and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They also told me that Dipke returned to India only after meeting the PM in the United States earlier. I am trying to gather more information about it.”
“Abhijeet Deepke’s protest is unlikely to achieve anything. Opposition parties in this country are capable of fighting against the government. The Congress organised protests all across the country against the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) question paper leak, but the media did not show these protests,” Sanjay Raut said.
“I had supported the Cockroach Janata Party’s movement, but after new information about it came to light, I felt it was important to share this information with everybody. So far, not a single leader from any political party has joined the Cockroach Janata Party’s movement,” Sanjay Raut said.
“We supported the youth. Our party said that if they have taken to the streets to voice their concerns, our position is that the government should listen to them. But, if anyone is actually helping the government, we are keeping an eye on it,” Sanjay Raut said.
Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke reiterated his demand for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and announced the launch of a nationwide protest against examination irregularities from the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) campus in Pune from Thursday.
Addressing a press conference in Pune on Thursday, Dipke said the protest campaign would begin at the SPPU campus in Pune and then move through Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar and Bengaluru, before concluding at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 20.
Dipke said the protest campaign would be peaceful and within the framework of the Constitution of India, adding that climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is expected to take part in it.
“We will not return until we get the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who is responsible for jeopardising the future of more than one crore students. We will also release an education manifesto with the launch of the movement,” Dipke said.
Dipke said that his party’s education manifesto has addressed concerns raised by students in recent years. “The education 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 issues faced by students due to delays and irregularities in the conduct of examinations,” Cockroach Janta Party founder and chief Abhijeet Dipke said.