Cockroach Janta Party Abhijeet Dipke Sppu Pune Protest Neet Ug Sonam Wangchuk

protesting at the Ambedkar Statue in Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) at 4 pm on June 11 to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak and CBSE evaluation issues. CJP has announced that inventor and activist Sonam Wangchuk will also be joining the protest. Speaking at a press conference at Patrakar Bhavan in Pune, Dipke said, “I want to appeal to all parents. I know you must be feeling scared when your children speak on politics or ask questions to the government. My mother gets scared. She did not cry so much when I went to the US but when I was returning this time she cried more. She told me ‘don’t come back, they will arrest you or attack you.’ But I told her that someone has to speak up. Similarly I am telling all parents, don’t stop your children from speaking up.” The satirical social media page was formed in response to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s comments. He had termed unemployed youth who become media or social media professionals, activists, RTI activists, as cockroaches. The page garnered the support of millions on social media and held its first protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on June 6. "Until I am alone, it is possible that my voice can be suppressed. But if lakhs and crores of students speak they will now have the power to suppress anyone’s voice. And if anyone has to go to jail it will be. I will not let your children go to jail, I take guarantee of it. But don’t stop them from speaking,” Dipke added at the press conference. When asked how much support he expected for his protest in Pune, Dipke said that the protest could be bigger than the one in Delhi. Protest permission granted Regarding the police permission for the protest sought by the CJP, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Chilumula Rajnikanth said, "The permission has been granted for the gathering on the university campus for the time period between 4 pm to 6 pm. They have been asked to adhere to certain conditions of maintaining law and order and conducting peaceful protest." Officials said that police deployment will be made at the location of protest and organisers have been asked to cooperate with the police. Following an order issued by the DCP Special Branch on June 5, prohibitory orders are in place in Pune City Police jurisdiction from June 9 to June 22. These orders prohibit conduct of rallies or gatherings without prior permission from the Police authorities. Meanwhile, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has also granted permission for the protest on its premises. SPPU Registrar Prafulla Pawar shared a statement saying, “The 'Cockroach Janata Party' had sought permission from the university to stage a protest demonstration tomorrow, the 11th. Permission has been granted subject to conditions aimed at ensuring that no untoward incident occurs.” (Inputs by Sushant Kulkarni)