NEW DELHI: Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh has claimed that Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka refused to meet Congress leaders during his recent Assam visit. He alleged that the group was told to stay away because its outreach was "an Aam Aadmi Party initiative". Singh's response came after Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das called out a fake "liberal ecosystem", saying that they believed they were alone responsible for “saving India, saving constitution”. However, they did not name Congress directly. Singh made the allegation in a post on X on Saturday while responding to Ranka, who had criticised what he described as an “entire ‘self-declared liberal’ ecosystem” targeting CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. Singh said Congress workers had helped CJP members after they were detained by Assam Police and claimed that Ranka nevertheless declined a courtesy meeting with Congress leaders, including Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi. This comes days after Ranka and more than 40 CJP volunteers were detained in Guwahati ahead of a regional volunteers' meeting. Opposition parties, including Congress, AAP, the Assam Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dal, had criticised the police action.
'You asked us to stay out of it'
Addressing Ranka, Singh said Congress members had helped secure the release of CJP workers after their detention. “When you were detained by Assam Police. We, Congress people helped to get CJP people out. Yet you categorically refused to have even a courtesy meeting with our Congress leaders and Gaurav Sir,” Singh said. "You refused it because the Aam Aadmi Party asked you to not to. Kunki Chowdhury who was your Host in Guwahati, was on Election Campaign with AJP President Lurin Gogoi Da for a Congress Candidate in Nagaon. Even they had asked you to meet and discuss with Congress. Yet not once, you chose to engage with Congress or our students wing. You asked us to stay out of it. And that it is a Aam Aadmi Party initiative," he added. Singh also referred to Kunki Chowdhury, at whose residence Ranka and other CJP members were reportedly detained. He claimed Chowdhury had asked Ranka to meet Congress leaders and discuss the group's activities. CJP members had been detained from the residence of Assam Jatiya Parishad leader Kunki Chowdhury in the Dispur area ahead of their scheduled meeting.
'Sidelined Neha Bora'
Singh further accused Ranka and CJP of trying to portray the movement as an AAP initiative and referred to the group's earlier protests in Delhi. “We know how you sidelined Neha Bora in the Jantar Mantar 1.0 protests and when even Left chose to engage with our Leader Rahul Gandhi Ji. You decided you will not engage under direct instructions of Arvind Kejriwal,” he said. He also alleged that AAP had previously sought to associate itself with movements led by others, citing the India Against Corruption movement and activist Sonam Wangchuk's protest. “Aam Aadmi Party is known for piggy riding and hijacking issues of others,” Singh said. Singh said CJP was “a people's movement” and argued that it should not be treated as the property of any political party. “Let us keep it civil and issue centric. The cause is bigger than a political party,” he said. “CJP is a decentralised movement. There is no one Supreme Leader or his hierarchy. We all are equals. That is why people support it.”
Row follows Ranka's criticism
Ranka's post that triggered Singh's response had accused a “self-declared liberal” group of targeting Dipke and questioning his growing reach. “An entire “self-declared liberal” ecosystem has been activated to denounce @abhijeet_dipke and the fact that he has been able to capture the imagination of millions of Indians after a LONG LONG time,” Ranka said. CJP co-convenor Saurav Das also criticised what he described as a group from outside the BJP that believed it alone was responsible for “saving India, saving constitution”. Neither Ranka nor Das named a political party in their posts. "It’s a very big problem. A certain section—not just the BJP—another party thinks “saving India, saving constitution” is only their job. They are self-declared liberals and self-declared thekedars of the constitution," he said.
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"It’s a very salty ecosystem, acting worse than the BJP’s ecosystem sometimes. They must realise that they can’t divide and rule through such tactics. Their massive failures over the years has led us to this moment where the young have to show the way. So they should just zip it on us and focus on how to support the young! Total buffoons!" he added. The latest exchange has brought CJP's political affiliations and its relationship with opposition parties into focus, even as the organisation continues its outreach on issues including education and electoral rolls.
