Amid speculations about the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) resuming protests, its founder Abhijeet Dipke's father claimed that his son was threatened.
Speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, Bhagwanrao Dipke said the CJP founder was asked to join the BJP or face repercussions. The alleged threat occurred via YouTube in May after the CJP was launched.
"Around May 15, 16 or 17, we saw a reel on YouTube. It said that if he didn't become a BJP member, 'we know where your parents live and we'll deal with them'," he said.
Speaking about his son leading the protests in Delhi, the father said, "He has done really good work. He sacrificed his own job and dedicated it to the nation. The education he attained, he did not use it for himself; he used it for the public."
Abhijeet returned to his home town recently after the protests were called off. His father said the family wanted to keep it under wraps to avoid publicity. "He (Abhijeet) does not like too much show or publicity. Even when he had visited our village earlier, he did not allow any such celebrations or arrangements. He prefers a simple life and does not like unnecessary attention," PTI quoted Dipke Sr as saying.
This comes three days after Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat visited the Dipke residence in Waluj, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. During the visit, the minister promised that he would urge Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to provide security to the CJP founder after the Jantar Mantar agitation concluded.
On Saturday, after the culmination of protests, Abhijeet's mother Anita Dipke recalled that she had sleepless nights during the campaign. "Every morning, I was scared to even look at my phone, fearing I would see a disturbing video. I would immediately call his friends to ask if he was safe," said Anita.
Back then, Bhagwanrao recalled that the family lived under constant fear. "We were all worried when he took the political plunge. He went against my wishes. Nobody in our family had any political background," he said.
The parents had even requested Abhijeet to not come back from the US in June, fearing his possible arrest. "We were so scared that during the initial days we left home and stayed in Konkan. We were under tremendous pressure. There were threats of physical harm to us," Bhagwanrao said.
Recounting how anxiety took a toll on their health, the father said, "We became so weak that we could barely stand. We were eating barely one roti a day. We could neither eat properly nor sleep. He was attacked twice during the agitation."
