CJP founder says Gandhi is India’s model for peaceful student protests

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said India's student protesters should draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi instead of Bangladesh or Nepal. He outlined the organisation's expansion plans, backed student movements across India and called for greater investment in education and compensation for NEET victims' families

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday said student protesters need not look at Bangladesh or Nepal when India has the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, who continues to inspire the world.

In an interview with PTI at his house in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dipke also spoke about CJP’s expansion plans, compensation for the families of NEET aspirants who died by suicide and allegations about the state of education in India.

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Dipke also dismissed exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen’s comment drawing a parallel between the CJP’s Delhi protest against exam irregularities and the 2024 agitation that ousted Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government.

“Protests in Bangladesh and Nepal are being used to defame us. We are different,” he asserted.

“We showed during the recent protest in Delhi that we were following the Constitution and holding our demonstration peacefully. Parallels with the protests in Bangladesh and Nepal are being used to defame us.

“We don’t need to look at Bangladesh or Nepal when we have Mahatma Gandhi, from whom the world takes inspiration to protest,” Dipke said.

People are talking about the protests in Bangladesh and Nepal because police brutality may have reminded them of the scenes in those countries, he said.

“The students in India were not violent or aggressive. They got their heads, arms and legs broken but displayed restraint and sat peacefully at Jantar Mantar,” Dipke said.

The CJP founder said education should be the prime agenda in every election. “If you don’t make education the main agenda in an election, it means you are not thinking about the future. Education is an investment in the future of the country,” Dipke said.

Dipke criticised the government over the delay in providing compensation to the families of NEET exam aspirants who died by suicide.

“They (the ruling party) have money to topple a state government overnight. You can buy MPs and MLAs by spending hundreds of crores of rupees, but when it comes to the NEET victims and their families, they look at the norms,” he said.

“The government should meet our demands as soon as possible, or else we will launch another agitation,” he added.

Dipke also exhorted Gen Z “not to reach the level of BJP leaders” who abuse even in Parliament and at public rallies.

“There is some difference between us and the goons, and that difference should always remain,” he said.

Dipke said he supports students agitating in Jharkhand over alleged irregularities in the State Public Service examination and other recruitment tests, demanding a CBI probe and reforms in the recruitment agencies.

“Their fight is not against any political party but against the system. We stand with their demands. If they want a CBI probe, we are going to support them in pursuing that,” he said.

“Wherever agitations take place for education and wherever students come forward to demand their rights, we are going to stand with them, irrespective of the ruling party in that state,” Dipke said.

“The rules are the same because our fight is not against any political party. It is against the system that has let down the students of the country,” Dipke said.

On several prominent Opposition leaders visiting Jantar Mantar to support the students’ protest, Dipke said the leaders did not indulge in promoting their parties or themselves.

“Everyone was sensitive towards the students’ agitation. They were very sensitive towards the cause and the students. When they were on the stage at Jantar Mantar, none of these leaders spoke about their political party, but said they were there to support the students,” he said.

On CJP’s expansion plans, Dipke said the organisation will hold a meeting in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on August 5.

“The expansion of CJP will take place. Our responsibility has increased after the success of the recent protest. People’s expectations of CJP have also gone up. At the meeting on Wednesday, we will discuss our future roadmap,” he said.

Dipke said the meeting will take place at his residence and 10 to 15 people will be present.

“We will also interact with other volunteers of CJP and involve them in taking the movement forward,” he added.

Dipke said there is a vast difference between education in India and abroad.

“The biggest difference is that most foreign countries have good infrastructure when it comes to education,” he said.

“They help you learn and grow as a human being and a responsible citizen. Our education is limited to grades. While I was studying in the US, the courses there were more practical in nature and less theoretical. In India, there should be greater scope for practical learning,” he said.

It is unfortunate that the present Indian government is spending less on education than the previous regime, Dipke said.

“The maximum funds should go towards education. There is no dearth of funds with the government, so I don’t understand why it is reducing expenditure on education. Education is where the maximum spending should take place as it is the foundation of a nation,” Dipke said.

“We don’t know how much money there is in the PM Cares Fund. I think the education department could really take some help from that fund,” he said.

The quality of education in the country has become unaffordable and inaccessible to common people, he added.