Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday alleged that money power drives elections, citing the recent Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) polls and claiming campaigners arrive in luxury cars.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), won three of the four central panel posts in the DUSU elections held after the recent CJP-led Gen Z protests. The Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) failed to win any of the four posts.
“Money works in elections and nothing else. Those who campaign in DU come in Rolls Royce, which is worth crores of rupees. They come in Audi, BMW. So money works there,” Dipke told reporters.
He also alleged that ideological affiliations were influencing appointments and functioning in educational institutions, echoing Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the BJP-led government.
Dipke claimed that Mahatma Gandhi Antarrashtriya Hindi Vishwavidyalaya Vice Chancellor Kumud Sharma was associated with RSS ideology and alleged that more than 50 FIRs had been registered against students since she took charge.
“When students protest for something, an FIR is registered against them. But when ABVP opposes something or locks any gate, no FIR is registered against them. Only Dalit, Adivasi (tribal) students who oppose the ideology are booked. It is a roadmap to make institutions (universities) a shakha of RSS,” he alleged.
On protests by Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) aspirants seeking the resignation of MPSC Chairman Vivek Bhimanwar over alleged corruption, Dipke said students had lost faith in the examination system.
“How can the students keep faith that exams will be conducted transparently until Bhimanwar resigns?” he asked.
He said the CJP, along with MPSC aspirants, would soon launch an online campaign, “Bhimanwar Rajinama Dya” (Bhimanwar, resign), to explain the allegations against the commission chairman, his alleged links with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and why, according to them, his resignation was necessary.
On the recent death by suicide of an IIT Bombay student, Dipke said the incident highlighted the need for greater mental health support for students.
The student was found hanging in his hostel room on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination, officials said.
“The suicide incident at IIT Bombay is painful. This is a result of students losing faith in the education system. Children are dying in backward areas as well as big cities. They are committing suicide because they feel that no one is there to support them,” Dipke said.
“Suicide cannot be justified if he is caught cheating. Did we ever hear of a minister committing suicide after being caught in corruption, or a businessman who looted a bank and fled? Mental health counselling is more important here. It was not such a grave mistake to warrant suicide,” he said.
Referring to his recent visit to Vidarbha and tribal schools, Dipke alleged that students in ashram schools were being denied basic facilities despite the institutions receiving government funds.
“Recently three students died of snakebite (in Gadchiroli), but still beds are not given to students, and they are still sleeping on the ground. Girls had to bathe in the open, and there was no roof or doors to the boys’ bathroom. Are they animals?” he asked.
“If you cannot give a dignified education, then for what reason are you sitting in power?” he said.
Dipke said the CJP’s “Adivasi School Thik Karo” campaign would continue and be expanded to other states, including Gujarat.
On the Election Commission’s decision to freeze the name and symbol of the Trinamool Congress, Dipke took a dig at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying he should join the ruling BJP, dissolve all Opposition parties and freeze their symbols.
“One party will contest, and one party will win elections,” he quipped.
(With inputs from PTI)