Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video in which he said he had forgiven students, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday said he hoped the prime minister would release another video apologising for the police action against students during the July 20 protest.
In a video message on X, Dipke said, "Yesterday we all saw Modi ji's video where he was saying he will forgive all the students. I think Modi ji will post a video today as well where I hope he will apologise to all the students for the police brutality on July 20."
Dipke alleged that students were assaulted during the protest, claiming that their clothes were torn and that women protesters were beaten.
"12-year-old students were hit on the head by the police. The women's clothes were torn, female protesters were beaten in their private parts. So I hope in tonight's video Modiji will apologise to all those female students who were assaulted," he said.
Dipke's remarks came a day after PM Modi said he was forgiving students who abused him and his late mother during the Jantar Mantar protest, asserting that legal action was not the answer and that the "misguided children" should instead be shown the right path.
The prime minister said he could understand the anguish prevailing in society, but stressed that this was the time to embrace the youth and guide them on the right path.
He said some "naughty children" had hurled filthy abuses at him, using language unfit for a civilised society.
"...But abuses never solve anything; let's guide the misguided," he said.
"I want to forgive them. People make mistakes, but it was a cultural shock that our daughters are using such abusive language.
We must forgive our youth who were misguided; after all, they are our children.
It's our duty to show them the right path," he said.
The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi concluded on July 25. Thousands of student activists, joined by innovator-activist Sonam Wangchuk during his 26-day hunger strike, mobilised to express public anger over the alleged widespread competitive examination paper leaks.
Following intense demonstrations, police standoffs and a major march to Parliament on July 20, the agitation resulted in the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The CJP officially ended the protest after the government conceded to their core demands which included educational reforms.
