CJP Delhi Protest: Days before the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)'s scheduled protest against Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over lapses in the education system, reports emerged that Abhijeet Dipke's virtual movement received political support to organise the agitation in India. Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha on Thursday clarified that he has no link with the CJP after his name surfaced. Jha said he had issued a recommendation letter to the Constitution Club of India for a press conference organised by the CJP but he has no association with the campaign, which "lacks ideological clarity".
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The Rajya Sabha MP said, "You have seen my letter. If you were to read the contents of my letter, it concerns a journalist with whom I was connected on social media, as well as some of my colleagues from Delhi University who happen to be my seniors. I was informed that they needed to organise a specific event, a press conference. I typically do this sort of thing every two or three days for one civil society organisation or another. I was simply told that they needed to organise an event, and the letter itself states this clearly and unequivocally. I observe that many of my colleagues in the media, without verifying the facts and without even glancing at the actual contents of my letter, are now attributing motives. If you were to simply look at my past record regarding the Constitution Club, I have consistently assisted numerous civil society organisations.
He further asserted that the matter should now be considered closed. "I had expressed this very sentiment back in 2012 or 2013, during the time of that earlier agitation as well. I do not offer comments on movements of this nature whose ideology lacks clarity. They didn't ask me for support yesterday, either. One positive outcome is that if anyone approaches me in the future requesting space, I will now conduct a proper inquiry," the RJD leader added.
CJP Denies Political Support
On the other hand, journalist Saurav Das, who is the CJP chief spokesperson, took to social media to underline that neither Jha nor any other politician has anything to do with their initiative.
"There are scurrilous allegations that Rajya Sabha MP Prof Manoj Jha sponsors the Cockroach Janta Party. For the sake of absolute transparency, I must clarify that it was on my request that he gave a letter of recommendation to secure a venue for an urgent press conference, since only an MP can make such a recommendation. Prof Jha is a renowned educationist, and it only made sense that I reach out to him as an individual who knew me and my work well. Any such linking is misleading and must be ignored," Das posted on X.
(With Agencies inputs)