Nagpur

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Tuesday suggested that the organisation was not interested in entering electoral politics, asserting that citizens should not have to contest elections merely to secure their rights.

Dipke was addressing a press conference in Nagpur ahead of a protest organised by the CJP demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG examination.

When asked whether the CJP planned to contest future elections, Dipke dismissed the idea.

"Why should we contest elections? If everyone in this country has to enter electoral politics just to demand their rights, how will the system function?" he asked.

The CJP leader also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what he described as a lack of engagement with students affected by the NEET-UG fiasco.

Responding to a question on whether the prime minister should address the nation's youth and reassure them that examination paper leaks would not recur, Dipke said Modi should first apologise to the families of students who allegedly died by suicide following the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination scheduled for May 3.

"The Prime Minister tweets when incidents happen anywhere in the world, but students in this country are ending their lives and there has not even been a condolence tweet from him," Dipke said.

"How long will you only talk about 'Mann ki Baat' and 'Pariksha Pe Charcha'? At least listen to the students' Mann ki Baat," he added.

Dipke argued that direct interaction between the prime minister and students would help the government better understand the challenges faced by young people and develop meaningful solutions.

He reiterated that the CJP's nationwide agitation would continue until Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down from his post.

"The protests will not stop until the Union Education Minister resigns," Dipke asserted.

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The remarks come amid continuing concerns over alleged irregularities in national-level entrance examinations and growing demands from sections of students and activists for greater transparency and accountability in the examination system.