Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday asserted that he funded his studies in the US through a scholarship and an education loan, amid questions raised over the financing of his education abroad.

Commenting on remarks of exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, Dipke in an interview with PTI here said, "Protests in Bangladesh, Nepal are being used to defame us; we are different."

Nasreen on Sunday drew a parallel between Delhi's CJP-led protest against exam irregularities and the 2024 stir that ousted Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime and said the student movement in Dhaka "fooled us".

Notably, a Surat-based RTI activist on Saturday said he had sought a probe into the finances of Dipke's father, a retired government employee who sent his son abroad for education.

"I have received a scholarship from Boston University for my education. I have also taken an education loan for my studies; it is still pending and has to be repaid. Everyone is free to investigate," Dipke said.

The CJP founder also said he expects the Maharashtra government to withdraw FIRs and desist from harassing students who recently staged protests over the NEET paper leak and irregularities in exams.

The protests spearheaded by the CJP over the NEET paper leak scandal at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, which received an enthusiastic response from Gen Z across the country, led to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union education minister last week.

Dipke said if an FIR is registered against 15-year-old protester Ruchika Singh for remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it should also be filed against BJP leaders and its IT cell members.

Education has become unaffordable and inaccessible for common people in India, he claimed.

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Dipke also said their responsibility has increased after the recent protests and that the CJP team would be expanded soon.