NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan during an ongoing protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, accusing him of being responsible for student deaths linked to alleged examination irregularities. During his speech, he also rejected what he claimed was the minister’s description of the group as a “B team of terrorists”. The remarks came as the CJP’s sit-in demanding Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and other examination controversies entered its fourth consecutive day.Responding to a video clip that he said showed Pradhan making the remarks, Dipke accused the minister of targeting young people seeking accountability over examination scandals.“Imagine what Pradhan said. While we are demanding justice for students who committed suicide, he said CJP is a B team of terrorists. The education minister is calling the youth of this country terrorists,” Dipke said, “Sir, we are not terrorists. We don’t need a certificate of patriotism from people like you who are responsible for the deaths of innocent students,” he added.In a separate post on X, Dipke escalated his criticism, writing, “Dharmendra Pradhan calls us terrorists. But the irony is that he is the one with the blood of more than 17 students on his hands.”The latest exchange came as CJP protesters organised a “diaper donation drive” at Jantar Mantar, with participants waving diapers and raising slogans of “Go Pradhan Go”. The campaign followed an appeal by the organisation asking supporters to bring diapers to the protest site, write demands for the minister’s resignation on them and join what it called the “Diaper A Day Keeps Leaks Away” drive.Dipke also expressed solidarity with farmer groups protesting against the proposed India-US trade deal at the same venue under the banner of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political).“Barricades may separate us physically, but not our cause. Farmers and students stand united in our quest for justice. Jai Jawan-Jai Kisaan!” he wrote in a series of posts on X.The sit-in protest, which began on Saturday, has drawn students, examination aspirants and members of various student organisations. Late on Monday night, CJP alleged that police attempted to curtail the demonstration by moving barricades and reducing the space available to protesters.The organisation has said it will continue its agitation until Pradhan resigns, maintaining that accountability is needed over alleged paper leaks and examination irregularities, including the controversy surrounding NEET-UG.
