Amid growing concerns over alleged examination irregularities, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday announced that the party will release its education manifesto later in the day, coinciding with the launch of a nationwide protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk is also set to participate in the peaceful protest, scheduled to begin on the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) campus in the evening.
"We are starting our nationwide protest from today at the SSPU. The protest will be peaceful and within the framework of the Constitution. Today, we will be releasing our education manifesto," Dipke said at a press conference.
"The manifesto focuses on preventing question paper leaks, ensuring timely declaration of examination results, improving transparency in recruitment and entrance examinations, strengthening accountability of examination authorities, and addressing issues faced by students due to delays and irregularities in the conduct of examinations," he said.
According to Dipke, the movement launched from Pune will expand to several cities, including Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar and Bengaluru, before culminating at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 20.
"We will not return until we get the resignation of the education minister, who is responsible for jeopardising the future of more than one crore students," he claimed.
Dipke also said the group remains open to discussions with the government but alleged that instead of engagement, authorities had suspended CJP’s social media accounts.
"CJP is a big message for the country. The government cannot ignore the youth. Instead of calling us fake, try to understand the issues and problems faced by the youth in the country," he added.
The group has gained traction in recent weeks through social media campaigns highlighting examination-related concerns and has positioned itself as a youth-led platform advocating reforms in the education sector.
Earlier this month, the organisation held a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, where students and young people from across the country gathered to demand accountability over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and seek Pradhan’s resignation.
(With inputs from PTI)