‘People from RSS’ behind attack on me, alleges Dipke; claims move to silence student voices

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged RSS-linked individuals were behind an attack on him during a Jaipur protest. He said the incident aimed to divert attention from the NEET paper leak issue and vowed to continue peaceful demonstrations demanding accountability

Nagpur: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday alleged that “some people from RSS” were behind the attack on him a day earlier, claiming it was an attempt to shift focus away from the real issue and stifle the voice of students.

Dipke landed at the Nagpur airport on Tuesday morning, ahead of the CJP’s protest scheduled at Samvidhan Square here later in the day to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over last month’s NEET (UG) paper leak issue.

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The CJP founder was allegedly slapped multiple times by two men while supporters carried him on their shoulders during a protest in Jaipur on Monday. Two youths have been detained in connection with the incident.

Asked who he thinks was behind the attack on him, Dipke alleged, “There were some people belonging to RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), and there is nothing new in it.” Whenever someone speaks against the government or their ideology, they do like this; there is nothing new in it, he claimed.

On claims that he has ties with RSS and had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke said, “Is that why they attacked me yesterday?” He claimed the attack on him was an attempt to divert attention from the real issue and to suppress the students’ voices.

“We will not deviate from our issues; you attack us as much as you want. We will do our protest peacefully and democratically and not deviate from our main issue, which is about more than one crore students suffering injustice, and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has to take responsibility for it,” he said.

“These kind of attacks will keep happening, but I am not afraid. We walk on the path of (Mahatma) Gandhi ji and Ambedkar, and it is our satyagraha, we will keep going on peacefully,” he asserted.

Dipke has appealed to Nagpur residents, including students and the youth, to gather at Samvidhan Square at 4 pm on Tuesday for a peaceful demonstration.

The CJP has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET (UG) paper leak scandal.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made ahead of the protest in Nagpur, officials said.

Police are expecting the participation of more than 2,000 youth in the demonstration. Considering the expected crowd, police have stepped up security across key locations in Nagpur, an official said on Monday.