‘Cockroach’ Abhijeet Dipke to return to India on June 6, announces ‘peaceful protest’ demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation

Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the satirical political outfit Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Monday announced that he will return to India on June 6 to hold a “peaceful protest” demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the issue of the NEET paper leak.

“I have decided to come back to India. Yes, I am coming back to my country, my home, India, to ask for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. You have been seeing for so many days that we are raising our voice on social media that because of the paper leak, the NEET students who died by suicide and the hard work of lakhs of students that has been wasted, for that, Dharmendra Pradhan should resign,” Dipke said in a video message posted on CJP’s Instagram handle.

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He called upon the youth of India to join the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to seek accountability from the government.

“The time has come for all of us to come together, follow the path of the Constitution of India, and peacefully raise our voices to demand Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. If we raise our voices together, they will definitely have to listen to us,” Dipke said.

“I have decided that I will arrive in Delhi on Saturday morning, June 6. Please join me at the airport and together we will go to the Parliament Street police station to ask for permission to hold a peaceful protest at Jantar Mantar,” he added.

The CJP founder had opened a petition demanding the resignation of Pradhan. According to him, the petition was signed by eight lakh students, yet there was no action.

“For the past few days, you all have been seeing how we have been raising our voices on social media, demanding that Dharmendra Pradhan must resign – for the NEET students who died by suicide due to the paper leak, and for the wasted hard work of millions of students… Eight lakh students have signed our petition. Crores of people have supported this demand on social media as well. And not just that, protests are also happening regarding this issue in many places across the country, such as Lucknow, Jaipur, and Maharashtra. Yet, they still do not care,” he said in the statement also shared on CJP’s new X account.

Sharpening his attack on the Union Education Minister, the Cockroach Janta Party founder said that a joke has been made of the lives of 1 crore students, including 22 lakh from NEET, 17 lakh from CBSE, 16 lakh from CUET, and 40 lakh from SSC GD.

“Students are very anxious and worried about their future. Someone has to take responsibility for this,” he added.

Dipke shot to prominence after his satirical Cockroach Janta Party garnered massive public support and rapidly gained traction on social media.

The CJP was founded as a protest against Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s purported “Cockroach” remarks about unemployed youth who criticise the system.

Although CJI Surya Kant clarified his remarks, the movement quickly evolved into a social media phenomenon.

Within a fortnight, the CJP handle on Instagram ammassed over two crore followers, surpassing the ruling BJP.

The X acocunt of the CJP was withheld in India in response to a legal demand by the Government of India.

The CJP challenged the decision in Delhi High Court but didn’t get any immediate relief as the court refused to order restoration of the account.

The High Court, however, issued notices to the Centre and X, seeking their response of CJP’s plea.