NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday alleged that several farmers’ leaders from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab had been placed under house arrest to stop them from joining the party’s ongoing protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.The allegation comes as the CJP intensifies its campaign demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak fiasco.In a post on X, Dipke wrote, “Many farmers’ leaders from UP, Haryana, and Punjab are being placed under house arrest to prevent them from joining us at Jantar Mantar.”He also appealed to people to join the protest on Sunday from 11 am, expanding the party’s agitation against the Centre.A day earlier, Dipke had criticised the government over the Maharashtra Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) paper leak, saying it once again exposed the authorities’ inability to conduct competitive examinations fairly. He renewed his demand for Pradhan’s resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations.Addressing a presser in New Delhi, Dipke said the cancellation of the Maharashtra TET, following the alleged leak of parts of the question paper, came close on the heels of the NEET controversy. The Maharashtra government postponed the TET 2026 examination just a day before it was scheduled after the alleged leak. Three people were arrested in Bhiwandi, and police claimed to have busted an inter-state syndicate linked to the case.“First NEET, now Maharashtra TET exam got leaked and called off at the last minute. Students and teachers have been screaming about TET scams since 2017, but the authorities would rather push our youth into a dead end than fix the system,” he said.“It is clear now; the TET paper leak in Maharashtra proves, whether on the state level or national level, the BJP government can’t conduct even a single exam. All they can do is break political parties and poach MLAs and MPs,” Dipke alleged.Questioning the source of funds used for political activities, he asked, “Where is the money coming from to buy MPs?”The Cockroach Janta Party, which began as a satirical digital platform and has been staging a sit-in at Jantar Mantar since June 20, has been demanding Pradhan’s resignation over the alleged examination irregularities and the NEET paper leak controversy.Dipke also alleged that the government was “unconcerned” about the future of students and urged young people to raise their voice against repeated examination leaks.As part of the campaign seeking Pradhan’s resignation, educationist and environmental activist Sonam Wangchuk is set to join the protest at Jantar Mantar from Sunday and begin an indefinite fast.Earlier, on Friday, Dipke announced the launch of a nationwide “Pradhan Go Back” campaign and called on students, parents, teachers, farmer groups and civil society organisations to join the protest at Jantar Mantar on June 28.
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