New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke met Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in Delhi on Saturday to thank her for standing by the group’s youth-led agitations, even as he made clear that CJP would stay away from the INDIA bloc’s Sunday demonstration at Ramlila Maidan. He said the organisation backed the opposition’s campaign over alleged “vote chori” but would not become part of it.
Dipke explained that the visit was primarily a gesture of gratitude for Banerjee’s consistent backing during CJP’s earlier protest at Jantar Mantar against the NEET paper leak. He also recalled her support when party members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody by Delhi Police.
“I just came to say thank you to Didi because the way she supported our first Jantar Mantar movement, she was always so strongly with the youth movement. When Saurav and Ashutosh were arrested by the Delhi Police, even then Didi stood with us very firmly,” he said.
Independent Stand
When asked whether CJP would participate in the opposition gathering, Dipke said the group endorsed the demonstration’s objective but intended to preserve its separate political identity. He stressed that CJP was not aligned with any bloc and wished to remain a non-partisan platform, as reported by The New Indian Expresss
“We support the protest tomorrow, we stand in solidarity, but the Cockroach Janta Party is an independent organisation; it is a neutral platform, and we want to keep it that way,” he said.
Dipke added that the fight over alleged electoral manipulation was larger than CJP itself, and that the organisation would back every group raising the issue, irrespective of political affiliation.
“Anybody who will fight against this vote theft, we will support all organisations,” he said.
Banerjee, who is in the national capital ahead of Sunday’s rally, welcomed Dipke and the other young activists. She credited them with initiating and sustaining the movement against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the Election Commission, saying their contribution should not be forgotten.
“They have extended their full support for tomorrow’s rally, and we have extended all support to them as well. They are the pioneers and the founders of this movement. That we must remember,” she told reporters.
The TMC chief said she was pleased to meet the activists and recognised the difficulties they had faced while keeping the protest alive. She also invited Dipke and his colleagues to West Bengal to hold programmes there. When asked whether an event in Kolkata was being planned, Banerjee left the decision to the group.
“That they will decide. It is their choice,” she said.
Dipke’s meeting came on the eve of the INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan rally, where opposition parties plan to highlight alleged irregularities in the electoral process and press the Election Commission for accountability.
