Cockroach Janata Party launches nationwide protest from Pune; Sonam Wangchuk presents party's education manifesto, what Abhijeet Dipke said?
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) launched its nationwide protest campaign on Thursday from the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) campus. Hundreds of students and supporters gathered there to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Social activist Sonam Wangchuk also joined the protest and presented the party's education manifesto to the crowd. According to Wangchuk, the manifesto addresses critical issues concerning students, such as frequent paper leaks, delays in exam results, a lack of transparency in recruitment and entrance exams, and the need for greater accountability among testing agencies.
Addressing the gathering, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke stated that the Pune rally saw a larger turnout compared to the party's previous protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. He also placed five demands before the government and called for the re-inclusion of the Maratha Empire map in NCERT textbooks.
The issue stems from a map printed in the NCERT Class 8 textbook for the 2025-26 academic session. The map depicted parts of present-day Rajasthan as territories of the Maratha Empire. However, following objections from some historians and members of former royal families, the NCERT removed it in March 2026.
Next Protest in Lucknow
Dipke said that the Pune event marked the beginning of a series of planned protests across the country. The party has announced that its next protest will take place in Lucknow on June 12.
As part of the campaign, Dipke is expected to visit several cities, including Jaipur, Amritsar, and Bengaluru, before concluding the tour at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 20. The party's first protest was held at the same venue on June 6, drawing thousands of participants during the five-hour demonstration.
Dipke dismisses claims of meeting PM Modi
Earlier in the day, Dipke addressed a press conference and dismissed claims that he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the US. Referring to a photograph that allegedly showed the two together, he claimed the image was created using Artificial Intelligence (AI). "How could I have met the Prime Minister? I was merely a student in the US. Everyone knows how strict the protocol for meeting the Prime Minister is," he said.
This clarification came after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that Dipke had met Modi while in the US. Raut claimed to have obtained a photograph of this meeting, although he did not make the image public.