India's Cockroach Janta Party founder slapped multiple times, beaten before addressing crowd in Jaipur
Abhijeet Dipke was on his way to address the gathering when some miscreants pulled at his scarf, slapped him, and attempted to drag him
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke was manhandled before he could address protesters in Rajasthan's Jaipur on Monday. He had called for a peaceful gathering at Shaheed Smarak at 3pm.
He was on his way to address the rally when the situation took a sour turn. While he was being carried on the shoulders of supporters, some miscreants in the crowd pulled at his scarf, slapped him multiple times, and attempted to pull him down, as seen in videos obtained by HT.
CJP state spokesperson Abhishek Jain Bittu accused the administration of failing to prevent the incident. "The manner in which this attack took place raises serious questions about the role of the police and the government. Instead of stopping anti-social elements, the administration allowed the situation to unfold. The conduct of the Rajasthan government and police is condemnable, and action should be taken against the officials involved," he said.
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Ashutosh Ranka, national spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party, told HT, "The administration deliberately fixed the protest timing at 3 pm in June, apparently to discourage people from gathering in the scorching heat."
Abhijeet Dipke reacts
"I was assaulted while entering the protest site. No matter how many attacks take place, I will not raise my hand against anyone. Cowards resort to violence. I will not remain silent," Dipke said.
The CJP founder also posted a video to social media: "These are all tactics and methods to scare us, threaten us, and divert us from the issue. We should not get distracted from the issue at all. Our only demand is that Dharmendra Pradhan must resign. For the injustice done to students and the suicides of students, he must resign. Even if you attack us once or ten times, even if you slap us once or ten times, we will still keep saying that Dharmendra Pradhan must resign. So do not get distracted. Stay focused on the issue… No matter how many times they raise their hands, we will not respond with violence. Our movement is peaceful and we will continue it with peace and love."
"And to the haters, I want to say 'get well soon,'" Dipke added.
CJP nationwide protests
The CJP, a satirical front, earlier launched their nationwide protest campaign, beginning with a large student gathering in New Delhi. Youth protests then followed at Amritsar, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Lucknow.
Dipke announced that the movement was expanding across India and warned of a return protest in Delhi if Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan did not resign over alleged examination irregularities, including NEET paper leaks and CBSE OSM issues. He said the campaign represented the voice of India's youth and would continue to grow.
The group, which emerged in May after controversial remarks by Chief Justice Surya Kant led to outrage, has built a large online following by turning the term "cockroach" into a symbol of resistance.
Activist Sonam Wangchuk has been at the forefront of the protests and actor Prakash Raj joined supporters in Bengaluru on Sunday.
