CJP-led demonstration demands Education Minister’s resignation

Students and government job aspirants gathered in Lucknow under the Cockroach Janta Party to protest alleged examination irregularities, demanding the resignation of the Union Education Minister. Police said permission was granted legally for the demonstration expected to draw around 1,000 participants

Lucknow: Students and government job aspirants assembled here on Friday for a protest led by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke over alleged examination irregularities, with demonstrators pressing for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Candidates preparing for teaching, medical, revenue, administrative, and other government recruitment examinations were among the protesters who gathered at the Eco Garden here since morning.

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The demonstration is part of a nationwide campaign launched by the CJP, which had earlier held demonstrations in Delhi and Pune. Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Babloo Kumar told PTI that the permission for the programme was granted after an application was submitted by an individual and not by any organisation.

“The application was submitted by a teacher, Vivek Kumar, late Thursday evening. After completing the required procedure, permission was granted,” he said.

The officer said reports claiming police had denied permission for the protest were misleading, as no application regarding the demonstration had been received till Thursday evening.

According to police, the permission is valid from 10 am to 4 pm, and around 1,000 people are expected to participate. Earlier, Dipke had said the protest would be conducted in a peaceful and constitutional manner to raise concerns over alleged examination irregularities.

“We have held peaceful protests in Delhi and Pune. We are not doing anything wrong. We only want to put forward our views in a democracy,” he had said.

The CJP plans to hold further demonstrations in Amritsar and Bengaluru before returning to Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for a larger protest on June 20.