From Rahul Gandhi to Vijay to Nadda: CJP invites leaders across party lines to back NEET protesters
NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janta Party on Tuesday wrote to leaders across the political spectrum, inviting them to join its protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to stand in solidarity with youth protesting against NEET UG leak.The protest, led by climate activist and educator Sonam Wangchuk, who is on an indefinite hunger strike, has gained national attention. In its appeal, the CJP urged leaders, including former BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda and Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi, to support students’ demands for accountability and justice over the alleged examination irregularities.One of the major demand of the protesting group is the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over NEET fiasco.In a post on X on Tuesday, CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said he and the outfit’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, wrote to political leaders on July 9 and 10, inviting them to join the group’s peaceful protest against the alleged NEET paper leak, which has now entered its 25th day.The letters were sent to BJP chief Nitin Nabin, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP MP Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu, JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha and YSRCP MP P V Midhun Reddy.Among opposition leaders, the CJP reached out to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, DMK leaders Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah, National Conference MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and MP Misa Bharti.The outfit also sent letters to TVK president and Tamil Nadu chief minister Joseph Vijay, Azad Samaj Party chief Chandra Shekhar Azad and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi.“Even before these letters, and in the days since, several political leaders from the list and their party members have extended their support to our youth movement. Many have visited Jantar Mantar, while others have invited our delegation for discussions. We sincerely thank each one of them for standing with India’s youth,” Das said.He said the organisation “continue to await responses from several others”.“We again sincerely appeal to the leaders to keep aside their politics and lend their voice to the voice of the young. This movement is about an entire generation demanding accountability for examination paper leaks, recruitment failures, and justice and compensation for the families of students who lost their lives at the hands of this corrupt, broken education system,” he said.“History will remember who stood with the youth when they called for justice. We only appeal that all of us stand on the right side of history,” Das added.In a separate post on X, Dipke said the organisation had taken its demands to leaders across the political spectrum.“The Cockroach Janta Party has reached out to all political parties regarding our demand of sacking the education minister and Rs. 1 cr compensation to the families of students who died by suicide,” Dipke said.The protest, which began on June 20, has drawn support from Opposition leaders, academicians, activists and public figures.Among those who have visited the protest site are former Delhi chief minister Atishi along with AAP leaders, Samajwadi Party MP Pushpendra Saroj, TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose, CPM MP Amra Ram, veteran CPM leader Subhashini Ali, former Kerala ministers K K Shailaja, Thomas Isaac, K N Balagopal and P Rajeev, Tripura Leader of Opposition and CPM Polit Bureau member Jitendra Chaudhury, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant.The agitation has also received support from actor Prakash Raj, Punjabi singer Kaka (Ravinder Singh), delegations from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the Assam Jatiya Parishad Youth Wing, and several academics and members of civil society.In the latest development, Dipke said former Delhi CM AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray separately called him to enquire about Wangchuk’s health. According to Dipke, both leaders expressed concern over Wangchuk’s deteriorating condition and extended support to the proposed march to Parliament on July 20.
