Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which spearheaded the recent nationwide student protests over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, has now received an invitation from a Union minister to join his party.
Ramdas Athawale, leader of the Republican Party of India (A), which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, said Dipke should join his party to fulfil the dream of Babasaheb Ambedkar and help strengthen society and the organisation.
“I think Abhijeet Dipke is an Ambedkarite. He is active and young. He should consider joining the Republican Party of India (A),” Athawale said.
In an apparent reference to last month’s protests at Jantar Mantar, which led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Athawale said the government believed that those who did wrong should be punished.
“We are a government that believes people should be punished if they do wrong. So, he should join the ruling faction,” Athawale said.
The CJP leader, who has ruled out entering electoral politics, has not yet responded to the minister’s offer.
Dipke, a former student at Boston University, became the face of the students’ protests after he flew back to India in June and launched the movement.
He had a brief stint with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was part of its social media team in 2020. He is no longer associated with the party, though several AAP leaders have come out in support of his new movement.
Dipke has ruled out entering electoral politics, saying people have lost faith in politics and the electoral system. He said the CJP would continue as a public movement.
