The nation witnessed an unprecedented and innovative protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar against the leak of NEET exam papers and the series of irregularities that created a stir across the country. The Cockroach Janata Party (KJP) staged the second largest mass protest in the capital Delhi on Saturday. Protesters were seen with steel bowls and spoons!
Protesters demanded the resignation of the Union education minister, using Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to ‘play bowls’ as a weapon to honor frontline fighters at the start of the pandemic.
However, CJP founder Abhijit Deepak did not directly explain the 2020 pandemic call. “All the pigeons or supporters who will come to Jantar Mantar to participate in the protest tomorrow will bring bowls and spoons with them. You know the rest of the story,” he told his supporters in a video message released on Friday.
Indeed, the ‘rest of the story’ is hidden in the history of March 22, 2022. During the ‘Janata Curfew’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the nation to stand at their balconies or doors for 5 minutes. Later, the opposition has repeatedly used the issue as a symbolic tool to criticize and ridicule various policies of the Modi government. This time the student union has chosen the same path in the NEET case as well.
The protest started at Jantar Mantar at 1 pm on Saturday and was attended by students from Delhi and neighboring states. The organization launched its first on-ground movement earlier this month after debuting on social media platforms like X and Instagram last month. The government has beefed up security at the Jantar Mantar square ahead of the second phase of protests on Saturday. CCTV cameras have been installed throughout the area for real-time or intensive monitoring.
The NEET-UG exam is scheduled to be held again in June but the union’s main and central demand is that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign immediately, taking moral responsibility for the question paper leak and overall fraud.
Before leaving for Delhi, Abhijit Deepak addressed reporters at his village Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district and slammed the Center on several other issues. He strongly opposed the Centre’s decision to impose a temporary ban on Telegram, especially on the eve of NEET exams. “This decision is like blocking the entire road without repairing potholes. There is no justification for this decision to ban Telegram,” said Deepak.
According to an all-India media source, Deepak said that 11 students have committed suicide in the country due to the NEET controversy. A compensation of Tk 1 crore has been demanded from the Prime Minister.
CJP chief Abhijit Deepak has already sent an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Here, he highlighted the deaths of 11 candidates who committed suicide in recent weeks due to the NEET controversy and demanded financial compensation of Rs 1 crore per family.
“It is with great sadness that I am writing to you today to draw your urgent attention to this acute crisis in the future of our country, namely the lives and mental well-being of young students,” he wrote.
Reiterating the demand for the education minister’s removal, Deepak said, “Telapoka Janata Party has been protesting continuously across the country for the past one month demanding the resignation of the education minister. We students just want to see if there is any accountability or responsibility from the administration behind the departure of these fresh souls.”
Meanwhile, reporters asked him about the recent political crisis in Maharashtra and speculation that six of the nine Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MPs have switched sides and joined the Eknath Shinde camp. In response, Deepak expressed anger against all politicians.
Referring to the residence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he claimed, “These leaders should be ashamed. The girl who committed suicide in the NEET exam lived just 500 meters from Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ house. But that family did not get any phone call or any help.” “The ruling party leaders have no money to give to the families of the dead students, while they have crores of rupees to buy and sell MLAs and MPs,” he further alleged.
Saturday’s event was the CJP’s second major Delhi rally, after the first protest at Yantar Mantar on the 6th of this month and subsequent agitations in Pune, Lucknow, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur. However, Deepak made it clear that the Telapoka Janata Party will never contest the elections.
The new group was formed online after Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant used the words ‘pigeon’ and ‘parasite’ during a hearing on May 16. Deepak, the founder of the party, earlier served as the Aam Aadmi Party’s social media manager. Regarding not contesting elections, he said, “Why should we contest elections? If every person of this country has to contest elections for their rights, how will the country run?”