Dipke continues Jantar Mantar sit-in, seeks farmers’ support for protest

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke and supporters continued their sit-in at Jantar Mantar overnight, demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over alleged examination irregularities. Dipke appealed to farmers and the public to join the protest and support students

New Delhi: On the second day of the protest at Jantar Mantar, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke sought farmers’ support for the youth-led agitation over alleged examination irregularities, the NEET paper leak and the demand for the education minister’s resignation.

He said students stood by farmers in the fight for their rights and need farmers’ solidarity now.

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While the protest drew hundreds of youths on Saturday, police made repeated announcements in the evening asking those present to vacate the premises. Police said the permission granted for the gathering had ended at 5 pm.

Dipke and several other protesters, however, sat through the night and have continued the sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar, reiterating their demand for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder has also appealed to people to reach Jantar Mantar, while asking NEET re-exam aspirants to join the agitation after completing their test.

“We are holding the fort, but without your support this movement won’t be successful,” Dipke said as he urged people to join the protest on Sunday.

Seeking support from the farming community, he said, “I appeal to farmers across India to come and stand with students at Jantar Mantar.”

When farmers were fighting for their rights, students stood shoulder to shoulder with them, and now students need the same solidarity today, he said.

Earlier, in a series of posts on X, Dipke appealed to police not to stop people from coming to Jantar Mantar, saying the protesters were not doing anything wrong and were only seeking justice for students who died by suicide.

He also requested authorities to restore water supply to public restrooms at the protest site, claiming that there had been no water supply since Saturday night. The protesters had earlier alleged that lights at the site were switched off and access to water, food and washrooms was restricted.

They later said access to drinking water was restored and the lights were switched back on.

The Delhi Police had on Saturday night directed Dipke and the protesters to vacate the venue, saying the demonstration had permission only from 10 am to 5 pm. Police said continuation beyond the permitted hours was a violation of the conditions of permission and warned of legal action.

As the night progressed, Dipke and the protesters remained at the site, turning the demonstration into an overnight sit-in. The protesters continued raising slogans demanding Pradhan’s resignation, and the protest site saw a steady presence of supporters through the night, with Dipke continuing to address the gathering and urging more people to join the demonstration.

Several protesters carried placards and raised slogans, and the atmosphere remained charged at Jantar Mantar.

Dipke said the protest would continue peacefully and reiterated his appeal for dialogue with the Centre, saying the channel for talks remained open if accountability was fixed and the education minister resigned.

The protest began on Saturday afternoon under heavy police deployment, CCTV surveillance, barricades and the presence of security personnel wearing body cameras.

Hundreds of supporters, mostly youth, gathered at Jantar Mantar after Dipke’s call to bring “thali and chammach” and banged plates and spoons while raising slogans demanding Pradhan’s resignation.

Dipke has demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of students who died by suicide following the paper leak and cancellation of the entrance examination.

“If there are arrests, I will be the first to court arrest,” he had told protesters.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who joined the protest, had announced that he would go on a hunger strike on June 27 if Pradhan did not step down.

This was the second protest organised by CJP at Jantar Mantar over alleged repeated paper leaks and demands for accountability from the government.