New Delhi: On the second consecutive day of demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke urged the farming community to support the youth-led protest against alleged examination discrepancies and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak. Addressing the gathering on Sunday, Dipke highlighted that the student community had previously stood shoulder to shoulder with farmers during their historic agitations and called for reciprocal solidarity to strengthen the ongoing student movement. The protesters have firmly locked in their primary demand, calling for the immediate resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The agitation, which commenced on Saturday afternoon with hundreds of youth banging plates and spoons following a call to bring “thali and chammach,” transformed into an overnight sit-in. Although the Delhi Police made multiple announcements on Saturday evening directing the crowd to vacate the premises due to the expiration of the official 5:00 PM assembly permit, Dipke and a core group of demonstrators remained at the venue through the night. The organizers alleged that authorities briefly restricted access to food, washrooms, and electricity during the night, though drinking water and lighting were subsequently restored. Dipke also appealed to law enforcement to allow peaceful supporters to reach the venue and requested the restoration of water supply to public restrooms at the historic protest site.
The CJP leadership has demanded a compensation of one crore rupees for the families of medical aspirants who tragically died by suicide following the irregularities and subsequent cancellations of national entrance tests. Prominent climate activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the demonstration, announcing that he would initiate a hunger strike on June 27 if the Education Minister does not step down. Despite heavy police deployment, multi-layered barricading, and constant CCTV and body-camera surveillance, Dipke stated that the sit-in will remain entirely peaceful, adding that he would be the first to court arrest if security forces initiate a crackdown.
