'Ready to show my documents, will PM Modi show his degree?': CJP founder Dipke on foreign funding row

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday asserted that he funded his studies in the US through a scholarship and an education loan, amid questions raised over the financing of his education abroad.

Commenting on remarks of exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen, Dipke in an interview with PTI said, "Protests in Bangladesh, Nepal are being used to defame us; we are different."

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Nasreen on Sunday drew a parallel between Delhi's CJP-led protest against exam irregularities and the 2024 stir that ousted Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime and said the student movement in Dhaka "fooled us."

Notably, a Surat-based RTI activist on Saturday said he had sought a probe into the finances of Dipke's father, a retired government employee who sent his son abroad for education.

"I have received a scholarship from Boston University for my education. I have also taken an education loan for my studies; it is still pending and has to be repaid. Everyone is free to investigate," Dipke said.

"I am ready to show documents related to my education loan and the scholarship letter. I also request Narendra Modi to show his degree," Dipke said.

The CJP founder also said he expects the Maharashtra government to withdraw FIRs and desist from harassing students who recently staged protests over the NEET paper leak and irregularities in exams.

Dipke also dismissed exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's comment drawing a parallel between the CJP's Delhi protest against exam irregularities and the 2024 stir that ousted Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime.

"Protests in Bangladesh, Nepal are being used to defame us; we are different," he asserted.

"We showed during the recent protest in Delhi that we were following the Constitution and holding our demonstration peacefully. Parallels to the protests in Bangladesh and Nepal are being used to defame us.

"We don't need to look at Bangladesh or Nepal when we have Mahatma Gandhi from whom the world takes inspiration to protest," Dipke said.

People are talking about Bangladesh and Nepal protests because police brutality may have reminded them of the scenes in those countries, he said.

"The students in India were not violent or aggressive. They got their heads, arms and legs broken but displayed restraint and sat peacefully at Jantar Mantar,'' Dipke said.

The CJP founder said education should be the prime agenda in every election. "If you don't make education the main agenda in election, it means you are not thinking about the future. Education is an investment for the future of the country.'' Dipke criticized the government over delay in compensation to the families of NEET exam aspirants who died by suicide.

"They (ruling party) have money to topple (state) government overnight. You can buy MPs and MLAs by spending hundreds of crores of rupees, but when it comes to the NEET victims and their kin, they look at the norms," he said. "The government should meet our demands as soon as possible, or else we will launch another agitation," he added.

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The protests spearheaded by the CJP over the NEET paper leak scandal at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, which received an enthusiastic response from Gen Z across the country, led to Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation as Union education minister last week.

Dipke said if an FIR is registered against 15-year-old protester Ruchika Singh for remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it should also be filed against BJP leaders and its IT cell members.

It is unfortunate that the present Indian government is spending less on education than the previous regime, Dipke said.

"The maximum funds should go towards education. There is no dearth of funds with the government, so I don't understand why they are reducing expenditure on education. Education is something where the maximum spending should take place as it is the foundation of a nation," Dipke said.

"We don't know how much money there is in the PM Cares Fund. I think the education department could really take some help from that fund," he said. The quality of education in the country has become unaffordable and inaccessible to the common people, he added.

Dipke also said their responsibility has increased after the recent protests and that the CJP team would be expanded soon.

With inputs from PTI