‘COCKROACH’ PARTY:
The youth-led movement said it plans to travel across the nation to gather ideas for reforms directly from the public, but will not join elections
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which spearheaded one of India’s biggest student protests, yesterday accused authorities of violating an agreement by pursuing participants and reiterated that it would remain a pressure group rather than enter electoral politics.Police continue to investigate cases against some students who took part in the New Delhi protests last month, despite a government agreement to withdraw legal action, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka told Bloomberg Television’s Menaka Doshi. The group had called off the protests after the agreement was reached.
A police officer fires tear gas shells to disperse activists and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party during a protest demanding the resignation of the education minister over alleged examination irregularities in New Delhi on July 20.
“There were clear instances where this agreement was reneged,” Ranka said, citing cases that remained active in several states and the detention of protesters. “That is a clear sort of breaking away from the promise made by the government. Our team has been on top of it. We have been very clear that none of the protesters being arrested will be tolerated.”The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to request for a comment.
