Amid rumours of a split within the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Mohammad Junaid, a volunteer and a prominent face of the protest at Jantar Mantar, has released a new video, in which he rubbishes claims of a rift with CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. Junaid, a resident of Ghaziabad who drew attention after running a community kitchen at Jantar Mantar during the protests, was seen in an earlier video complaining that Dipke and the CJP top leadership were not supporting him as expected. He stated that neither Abhijeet Dipke nor the CJP's top leadership had contacted him since the end of the protest.
Junaid, a resident of Nahal village, located in the Mussoorie police station area of Ghaziabad district in Uttar Pradesh, was detained by the police for questioning. He was later released, according to local media reports.
It was then that a video surfaced on social media where Junaid was heard alleging that he was left in the lurch by the CJP. In the purported video, Junaid said he hoped the party's entire legal team would come out in his support. He added that he felt the party was distancing itself from him, though he wanted everyone to join forces to continue this fight.
In a conversation with Hindustan Live, Junaid openly expressed his displeasure with the CJP leadership. He said that during the protest, he arranged food for students and party members for 35 days, but now no one is contacting him. "If you keep an animal with you 24 hours a day, you develop an attachment to it. I stayed with them for 35 days, fed them, and took care of them," he added.
However, in a video released on Monday, Junaid urged supporters not to pay heed to “fake rumours” and said that the CJP leadership was with him.
The CJP also released a statement saying Junaid was being given all legal assistance and had also briefly joined a get-together of volunteers after the protest ended. “We urge everyone to stop spreading misinformation and hate. Whatever action took place at his residence was addressed promptly in the first instance,” CJP spokesperson and legal point of contact Ratna Singh said in a tweet.
