Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Friday warned of an escalation in the group’s campaign, saying he would stage a dharna in Jaipur if action was not taken within 48 hours. Earlier in the day, CJP activists, including co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka, were confronted by locals while attempting to visit a school in Jaipur district.
“I will go to Jaipur if the school repair work doesn’t begin and the BJP goons are not arrested within the next 48 hours,” Dipke said in a video message. He also urged others to join him if the demands were not fulfilled.
The CJP launched its ‘School Thik Karo’ (Fix the Schools) campaign on August 15. As part of the initiative, its members have been visiting government schools to highlight a lack of basic facilities.
Earlier on Friday, Ranka and dozens of CJP activists attempted to visit a primary school in Rampura-Kanwarpura village in Jaipur district. According to the CJP, they were confronted by locals and forced to leave.
“These are not the villagers from there, but goons summoned by the BJP,” Ranka alleged in a post on X following the confrontation.
Dipke also claimed in his video that “Ashu [Ashutosh Ranka] and his team were attacked and beaten up by BJP goons”. He said children were being taught in a buffalo shed and alleged that Ranka had gone to the village to highlight the condition of the school.
“So, I want to say that if work to repair that school is not started within 48 hours, and those goons are not arrested, I will personally come to Jaipur and sit in front of the school until work to repair it begins,” Dipke said.
The CJP appears to be considering Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, as the next location for a larger protest.
“I also request all of you. If they do not listen to us, all of you come to Jaipur. We will sit in Jaipur just as we sat at Jantar Mantar, and we will not back down,” Dipke said.
The CJP convenor also demanded the withdrawal of a circular that allegedly instructed people not to photograph or record videos of damaged schools.
Ranka shared Dipke’s video on X and appealed to people to come to Jaipur if repair work did not begin within 48 hours.
The CJP, which initially emerged as an online satire, began its protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 6. The demonstration continued until July 25, when the Union Education Minister resigned over the NEET-UG paper leak case. The group has now shifted its focus to the condition of government schools, with Jaipur potentially emerging as the next site of an intensified protest.
