​​Our movement peaceful, don’t compare it with Gen-Z protests in Bangladesh & Nepal: Cockroach Janta Party founder

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday distanced his party’s protest movement from recent violent Gen-Z uprisings in Bangladesh and Nepal, saying that his campaign will remain strictly peaceful even as it scales up into a nationwide agitation over the NEET paper leak issue.

Addressing reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after returning from Delhi, Dipke said the party’s stir at Jantar Mantar was conducted peacefully, and similar protests will follow.

“We held a peaceful stir at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, and will be holding similar peaceful protests in days to come,” he said.

He urged young people and their families to speak up on issues affecting them, saying fear should not hold them back. “Learn to raise your voice. Don’t be afraid. I am ready to go to jail for you,” he said.

Dipke said the agitation will continue until Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over the NEET paper leak. “It will be a nationwide agitation, and we will declare our future course of action soon. Accountability has to be fixed, and govt needs to accept its mistake,” he said.

Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke questioned govt’s inability to curb exam paper leaks. “Why can’t the PM stop question paper leaks if he can stop the war between Russia and Ukraine?” he asked.

Responding to criticism branding him anti-national, Dipke said: “Instead of talking about employment and job creation, Hindu-Muslim politics is being done. Such politics will not address exam-related issues. Talks on education and employment can achieve real progress and rectify the system.”

The 30-year-old said his party is open to support from all sections of society but ruled out formal alignment with established political parties.

“We are all witnessing today’s political situation. A party like ours, which is born out of satire, is getting such support from the public. This is because people no longer have any expectations from political parties and govt,” he said.

He clarified that parties like AAP or Congress can extend support only from outside, adding that the future course will be shaped by feedback from supporters.

In a social media post, Dipke described the Jantar Mantar protest as a preview of the movement’s potential. “Most people who joined us yesterday had never participated in a protest before. But they felt emboldened by our collective presence to express their sheer anger and frustration at the education system. Change cannot happen if we don’t make our voices heard,” he said, adding that govt “cannot touch a unified, peaceful movement.”

Dipke, who recently returned from the US and ruled out going back, received a traditional welcome at his residence in Waluj, where heavy police deployment has been placed as a precautionary measure.