Bhagwan Dipke, father of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, on Tuesday lashed out at the central government for its handling of the protests at Jantar Mantar, underlining that he was worried about his son after the police action but won’t ask him to step back.
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“He began this protest on his own, and at this stage we cannot ask him to withdraw the agitation,” Dipke’s father told HT on the phone from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, previously known as Aurangabad.
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Abhijeet’s mother, Anita, also criticised the police action, questioning why students aged 18 to 20 were being treated as terrorists. “These children have been worried about their future and have been protesting peacefully for the past month. Instead of responding to their concerns, they were lathi-charged. The government should have listened to their demands and taken a decision,” she said.
She added, “I watched the videos on my mobile phone and tears welled up in my eyes. What happened to these students was deeply distressing.”
Police struck protesters with batons and fired tear gas shells to disperse huge crowds that reached central Delhi on Monday morning and attempted to march to Parliament, demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over repeated paper leaks and exam irregularities, after a 23-day-old sit-in hunger strike at Jantar Mantar.
Bhagwan Dipke said the police’s heavy-handed response to the protest on Monday reflected the government’s arrogance.
“What happened yesterday was deeply disturbing. Never before have students had to face a police lathi-charge during a protest. These are well-qualified students who did not resort to violence or rioting. Their agitation was peaceful,” he said.
“The government has become arrogant and believes it is invincible. This is what happens when a government remains in power for too long,” he said.
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A retired engineer with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Abhijeet’s father said they never imagined the police would resort to a lathi-charge during what he insisted was a peaceful demonstration and accused the authorities of provoking violence.
“These students are educated and responsible; they would not have done anything to disturb law and order. What happened appeared to be a state-sponsored riot,” he said.
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According to Delhi Police, the protesters participating in the CJP’s “Chalo Sansad” march turned “unruly, aggressive and violent”, attacked police personnel, damaged public property and attempted to breach security barricades. Police also said over 118 police personnel sustained injuries in the protests.
“During today’s protest, the protesters displayed unruly, aggressive and violent behaviour. Despite repeated warnings and lawful directions issued by the police, they refused to disperse and deliberately violated the prohibitory orders in force,” police said in a statement on Monday.
