CJP Alleges BJP Disruption of Student Protests, Demands Education Minister's Resignation

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) representative Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday alleged that people were being sent from outside to deliberately disrupt the ongoing students' protest, and accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of pelting stones and attempting to defame the protesters.

Speaking to reporters, Dipke said the protest had been ongoing for a month without any such incident, but claimed that the situation changed after the protest gained momentum.

"People are being sent from outside to deliberately disrupt the protest. We have been sitting here for a month. No such incident has happened in a month. But now, as this protest has grown, goons are being sent from outside by the BJP to deliberately incite people," he said.

Dipke further alleged, "These are the people from the BJP who are pelting stones. The police bring trucks of stones here. BJP goons come, they pelt stones and then defame the people of CJP..."

Dipke also said the police lathi charge during the ongoing protest was "very brutal" and asserted that they would take the police officers involved to court, while he asserted that they were urging Sonam Wangchuk to end his hunger strike.

Dipke said that the protest had entered its 34th day, while Wangchuk's hunger strike was continuing for the 26th day.

"I have already spoken about the lathi charge. It was very brutal, and we will take the police officers who carried it out to court, and today is the 34th day of our protest. Sonam Sir's hunger strike is continuing. Today is the 26th day of his hunger strike, so our protest will continue until our demands are met," he said.

However, Dipke said he appealed to Wangchuk to end his hunger strike, saying, "But we are requesting Sonam Sir to end his hunger strike because we cannot afford to lose his life..."

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)'s Saurav Das termed the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as "non-negotiable", adding that the protest would continue until the demand was met.

Das said he had spoken to Sonam Wangchuk several times during the day and that they agreed the protest should remain peaceful.

"I spoke with Sonam Wangchuk several times today. The conclusion was that this protest should remain peaceful. He has also publicly appealed to all protesters to maintain peace and conduct this protest in the right manner. He has also publicly appealed to all protesters to maintain peace and conduct this protest in the right manner," Das said.

He alleged, ".. In previous protests in this country, anti-social elements planted by the ruling regime infiltrate and derail the entire protest, then ultimately, those protesting peacefully are blamed, and this should not happen."

On the demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation, Das said, "Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation is non-negotiable. Without this, the protest will continue. It will continue for as long as it has to."Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Wednesday said that the issue of paper leaks should not be politicised and it is a serious problem which requires in-depth discussion.

Nadda, who is Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha, said that the government is ready to discuss all aspects of the NEET-UG paper leak in Parliament.