CJP leaders abandoned, starved protesters, went for party, claims influencer
After the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation over the NEET-UG paper leak claimed its biggest political victory with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan
After the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led agitation over the NEET-UG paper leak claimed its biggest political victory with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the movement is facing serious allegations from one of its most prominent backers. Political commentator and YouTuber Meghnad S has accused CJP leaders of "abandoning and starving" the protesters at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar after Pradhan resigned on Saturday. Commenting on an Instagram video where CJP leaders were "celebrating" and dancing after the resignation, Meghnad said while senior leaders celebrated after declaring "democracy has been restored", dozens of volunteers and protesters were left stranded in Delhi without food, shelter or support. Read Full Story Meghnad claimed he and a few others spent their own money to send many of them home, who kept the month-long protest alive. The allegations have attracted widespread criticism of the CJP leadership, which has increasingly come under scrutiny over the movement's leadership and functioning, especially over their handling during the final days of the agitation. Responding to the criticism, Saurav Das told India Today TV that the gathering was a meeting to thank around 150-200 volunteers, insisting that while celebratory visuals emerged, leaders were working to help protesters. Meghnad is not the only one criticising the CJP leadership. The party is also facing questions over its alleged treatment of Junaid, who, India Today Digital reported, arranged food for protesters at Jantar Mantar for over a month. Critics asked why he was allegedly left detained while CJP leaders celebrated. Others questioned the CJP leadership after Junaid, speaking to the Live Hindustan YouTube channel, alleged that CJP leaders did not even shake hands with him before leaving after the protests.
His remarks made several people on social media to question whether the leadership's conduct towards those who had supported the month-long agitation was justified. Launched last month over the NEET-UG paper leak, the CJP's central demand was the resignation of Education Minister Pradhan. It began with memes and social media posts, which soon grew into sit-ins at Jantar Mantar. Activist Sonam Wangchuk went on a hunger strike. A march to the Parliament met with a brutal crackdown. What followed was unprecedented protests across the country, following Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from his post. DID CJP LEADERS ABANDON PROTESTORS AT JANTAR MANTAR? The trigger of the criticism faced by CJP leaders was a video in which CJP spokesperson Saurav Das was seen dancing in an indoor set-up. In the video, Das was seen grooving with a bunch of kids, and had a caption that said "Resignation Party". In some purported videos, said to be from the very gathering, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was also seen meeting some people. The remark, followed by the celebratory video, even as many protestors struggled to leave Central Delhi, did not sit well with several people, including Meghnad. Commenting on the dance video, Meghnad accused the CJP leadership of walking away from the protest while volunteers were left to fend for themselves. "I'm seeing this at 4 am in the morning. Me and a few others have spent the last two days sending abandoned and starving CJP volunteers and protestors home with our own money. I wasn't going to say anything, but I saw this video, and I'm pissed off...," Meghnad wrote.
The BriefWire