Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and national convenor Abhijeet Dipke has said the party leadership may consider bringing former spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya back, but acknowledged that the incident which led to his removal was “insensitive”.
He also said he had spent the previous two nights at the protest site, in case the police launched a crackdown. A video purportedly showing Dahiya at a fast-food outlet went viral on social media, raising questions over why he was not at the protest site. “What people don’t see is that I haven’t slept for two nights.
Dipke described Dahiya as “a nice person”, but said the “timing was wrong” when the incident that resulted in his removal took place. In a statement shared on X, the CJP said the videos surfaced when “peaceful protestors and our team were facing brutal police violence”, and said Dahiya’s actions did not reflect the values of the movement. After being removed from the CJP, Dahiya said he was “made a scapegoat” over the incident. The former CJP spokesperson said his “heart broke” when he was sacked. He had earlier said that critics were overlooking the sacrifices of people taking part in the protest. Neither have those who are part of the protest,” he said, adding that he had returned home to shower after leaving the march and later stopped to get food.
