New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has reignited the controversy over his Boston University education by challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to publicly release his own academic certificates along with his.
In a post on X on Thursday, Dipke said he was ready to produce his US degree, but only if the Prime Minister did the same. “People are really running out of patience waiting to see my degree. Makes me wonder how they’ve managed for 12 years without seeing the Prime Minister’s,” the CJP leader said in a post on X.
He followed up with a direct challenge: “let’s both show our degrees and put an end to this.”
Earlier in the day, Dipke had circulated a montage of clips that appeared to come from a Boston University College of Communication graduate afterparty shared by an account named “BUComGrad”. One segment showed him seated at a table, chatting with others, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The comments came after a fresh wave of scrutiny triggered by podcaster Prakhar Gupta’s recent episode featuring activist Sonam Wangchuk, in which Gupta questioned whether Dipke had actually graduated from the US university.
Podcast Claim
A clip from the podcast circulating on social media shows Gupta saying one of his close friends had studied at Boston University and was also present during the protests. He did not disclose his friend’s name, just said that he is in media and also does podcasts.
“One of my best friends went to Boston University. Boston University is also Abhijeet’s college,” Gupta said.
He went on to describe his friend’s participation in the CJP-led protests and said that his friend was a staunch supporter of the agitation’s cause. However, Gupta added that the friend had later begun examining Dipke’s educational credentials.
“One month later, he has gone down the rabbit hole of checking Abhijeet’s educational credentials and found that there is no record of him graduating from Boston University,” the podcaster claimed.
Court, IT Cell Jibe
This is the second time Dipke has turned the controversy over his degree into a direct challenge to the Prime Minister.
In a separate post, he wrote: “Why did the Delhi high court refuse to disclose the PM’s degree? From what I’ve learned from the IT Cell over the last few days, anyone who doesn’t show their degree is apparently a fraud and a liar.”
Allegations about Modi’s educational qualifications have surfaced periodically, with several opposition figures raising similar doubts in the past. The BJP, however, has exhibited Modi’s degree publicly on earlier occasions and now insists the issue is closed.
Funding Queries Resurface
Doubts about how Dipke financed his US education have also resurfaced. Surat-based RTI activist Amit Tiwari had previously demanded an inquiry into the finances of Dipke’s father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, a retired Maharashtra government junior engineer.
“I have complained to the Maharashtra Government that Bhagwanrao Dipke was a Junior Engineer at MIDC. So, if he received a salary of ₹60,000-65,000, how was he able to afford the education of his children in the US?” he told news agency ANI.
The RTI also sought scrutiny of funds linked to the CJP, particularly in connection with Dipke’s education.
Dipke rejected the allegations in an interview with senior journalist Barkha Dutt, saying his education at Boston University was funded through a scholarship.
“My education was funded by a scholarship provided by Boston University. And I had taken some education loan which I have to pay back now,” Dipke told Dutt.
He also showed his scholarship letter from the US-based university during the interview.
The CJP has separately hit back at questions over Dipke’s education.
Party spokesperson Vaishnavi Gaur, said, “Those who file RTIs into a private individual’s education expenses should also take a look at the PM CARES Fund too. Modi ji will forgive you too—don’t worry. (Ek private individual ke education expenses pe RTI lagane wale kabhi PM cares fund ki taraf bhi dekhe. Modi ji aapko maaf kar denge, don’t worry),” she wrote on X.
