Now that the 37-day Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest is over, the outfit is lending support to protesters who came to Delhi for the agitation and are now struggling to get back home.
Event Context
CJP spokesperson Aafreen Nawaz is the point of contact for everyone trying to get back home, one member of the Abhijeet Dipke-led outfit said in a X post which was reshared by the CJP on Monday. “Please reach out to me in DMs if you or anyone you know who came to Jantar Mantar is struggling to get home,” a member named Vaishnavi Gaur said on X.
It has been nearly 48 hours since the protest was called off, after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as education minister and the government said that it had agree two other key demands by the CJP – ₹1 crore compensation for the families of students who died by suicide over the NEET paper leak, and withdrawal of cases against protesters.
Even before the CJP’s appeal, some other prominent names who backed the protest offered to help students to who participated.
YouTuber and journalist Meghnad S, who took part in the CJP protest in Delhi, shared a video message on Instagram, offering to help protesters get back home. “There are many volunteers and protesters who don’t have money to return home or eat. If you are someone who is struggling to get back home, I am offering to help,” the journalist said.
He also shared an address: Blue Tokai, Janpath, so people can gather there for help. “Please come, I’ll help you. I’ll give you money to get home and have food”.
In another clip, he also shared names of two other meeting points: The New Delhi Railway Station and a cafe near the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. The journalist had started making offers to help hours after the protest was called off.
Apart from him, another popular social media personality called Aman Pandey also shared similar appeals.
“We don’t need funds for now, but if you can send people our way and be in touch. Some of them might not even have phones or net, so physically bhi dhundho if possible. No person left behind,” he posted on Instagram.
One of the assurances the government gave the CJP before the outfit withdrew its protest was dropping of all cases filed against protesters. However, the CJP said on Monday that it received reports of protesters being detained or arrested in Assam, West Bengal and Bihar.
“The Cockroach Janta Party had called off its nationwide protest only after the Government of India assured us that no punitive action would be taken against any protestor, either now or in the future, in any BJP-ruled or NDA-ruled states. The reports emerging from these states are therefore a matter of grave concern,” the statement read.
The outfit also called on the government to “honour” the promise and ensure the release of those detained.
