CockroachJanta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke invoked Shaheed Bhagat Singh and the farmers siege of Delhi as he arrived in Amritsar this afternoon, the CJP’s first meeting outside Delhi, keenly aware that the protest would need to expand and gather momentum if it had to transform into a movement.
“The government sitting in Delhi is taking us for granted. We had demanded Pradhan’s resignation by June 13. Today, I have come to the heart of Punjab to seek your support in holding the government accountable,” said Dipke.
Dipke reiterated the CJP’s demand for the resignation of Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and deep-seated reforms in the education system. He said there must be much greater transparency in the holding of national exams and stronger accountability, especially in the backdrop of the NEET paper leak and CBSE’s on-screen marking fiasco.
“Bhagat Singh Zindabad,” Dipke said, while hailing Punjabis for leading revolutions. “Whether it was freedom movement or this student movement, no revolution can be successful without the support of Punjabis,” he added.
Throughout the duration of his speech, the crowd, a mix of farmers, students, government job aspirants, raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Among the scores of youngsters who attended, Jagbir Singh, a 65-year farmer from a village near Fatehgarh Churian who lost his land in the Ajnala floods, stood out as one of Dipke’s most vocal supporters. Describing the CJP as a “ray of hope”, he said “Koi teh saddi gall sunega, saddi gall karega (At least someone will hear us out, raise our issues).” Similar sentiments were shared by Jyoti Kumar, a BEd Graduate from Beas aspiring for an ETT job. “There are no jobs. Where will educated youth go? If there is a test, it’s either cancelled or postponed,” she lamented.
The protest also saw radical Sikh outfit members opposing Dipke’s presence in Punjab and objecting to the use of the word ‘cockroach’ being associated with Punjabis.
