NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) said on Thursday that they will continue to function as a public pressure group instead of entering electoral politics for now, after a two-day meeting of the organisation’s core team in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.Addressing a press conference after the meeting, its founder Abijeet Dipke said CJP would focus on building a nationwide citizens’ movement around issues including unemployment, education, transparency, accountability and institutional reforms. In this context, they announced a “Kya Bolti Public” campaign.The campaign will involve CJP representatives across the country to seek people’s views on the issues they face and understand what they think about the present political and social situation. “During the ‘Kya Bolti Public’ campaign, we will get to know what people think of the present situation in the country and what the issues they face are,” he said.“For now, CJP will be a pressure group because what India needs right now is a pressure group,” he clarified.He said the organisation’s work would extend beyond education-related issues and focus on wider concerns around governance and democratic institutions. “Whether it is the political system, the judiciary, the media, or the Election Commission, the reality is that people have lost faith in all these institutions,” Dipke said.He added that CJP wanted to build public pressure to restore accountability and neutrality in these institutions, adding that “the political system today, in my opinion, is in a very bad state”.Unemployment is another issue the organisation plans to take up nationally. “Unemployment is a major problem, we will make it a nationwide issue,” Dipke said.He also said CJP would work on education reforms and criticised the rising cost of education. “Education has remained unaffordable since schooling. Education is used for making profits. But we want to change it,” he said.Dipke further stated that young people would be a key focus of the nationwide campaign, noting that 60 per cent of India’s population is below the age of 35. He said unemployed youngsters had also participated in CJP’s protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi last month.The organisation had led protests over the NEET paper leak and other alleged examination irregularities. Dipke described the resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as a major outcome of the agitation. “Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation is the biggest achievement of the students’ agitation,” he said.The two-day core committee meeting also focused on expanding CJP’s grassroots presence across states, strengthening its organisational network and preparing for the nationwide youth outreach campaign.Dipke rejected speculation that CJP was preparing to enter electoral politics, saying the organisation had no immediate plans to become a political party. Instead, it would seek to build a nationwide citizens’ movement around transparency, accountability and institutional reforms.
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He also expressed support for students protesting over alleged examination irregularities in Jharkhand and said CJP members, including its leadership, could visit the state if required.The CJP founder also called for efforts to restore the credibility of the media, making it another focus of the organisation’s broader campaign.
