The Delhi Police denied permission to the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to continue its protest at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Saturday (June 20), even as the party founder Abhijeet Dipke asserted that he would not move from the site until Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns.
A section of the protesters remained at the site beyond the designated time, despite the police asking them to vacate the venue. Police said the protest, which started around 1 pm, only had permission till 5 pm.
Dipke renewed his call for Pradhan’s resignation at the protest and was joined by climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who announced that he would go on a hunger strike from June 27 if the minister does not step down.
In a video posted on his X (Formerly Twitter) handle, Dipke said police were coming to arrest him at Jantar Mantar, and they are also not allowing drinking water at the protest site.
What Dipke wrote on X
“Police is about to arrest me. I appeal to you to not stop this peaceful protest nationwide even if I am arrested! (sic),” Dipke wrote along with the video in which he appealed to the youths to continue the peaceful protest and also start “Jail Bharo Andolan” (Fill the jails movement) in their respective districts.
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“Delhi Police is not allowing drinking water at the protest site,” he wrote in another post.
Police have asked CJP supporters to vacate the site where a large number of students and others have been demonstrating over alleged examination irregularities, repeated paper leaks and demands for accountability from the government.
Dipke’s earlier appeal
Earlier, Dipke had appealed to supporters to join the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar at 6 pm, expressing confidence that police would grant permission for the extension.
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Dipke said, “I request the authorities… since youth from all over the country is here. They want to sit here till we get justice. (I) request Delhi Police to extend our permission. The protest has been peaceful; we are just innocent students who want to sit here.” The youth leader also said that the channel for dialogue is open, but the “only condition is that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign”.
He also requested Delhi Police to “open a dialogue with the Centre” and asserted, “If there are arrests, I will be the first to court arrest.” The protest started earlier in the day amid heavy police deployment as students sloganeered and held placards seeking answers from the government over alleged failures in ensuring transparent examinations and protecting the interests of aspirants.
Chants of ‘Dharmendra Pradhan must resign’
Supporters responded to Dipke’s call to bring “thali and chammach” (plates and spoons), using them as symbols of protest and banging them during the demonstration. Chants of “Dharmendra Pradhan must resign” echoed at the venue, as protesters renewed their demand for accountability over issues related to examination management.
Ahead of the protest, Dipke had written an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding that accountability be fixed over the concerns raised by students. While the letter referred to fixing responsibility, the CJP has also been demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the handling of examination-related issues.
The June 20 demonstration follows CJP’s earlier protest at Jantar Mantar, where the youth-led group had raised concerns over alleged paper leaks, examination irregularities and delays affecting students and job aspirants.
(With agency inputs)
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