CJP writes to PM Modi, seeks end to silence over exam leaks, Sonam Wangchuk fast
The Cockroach Janta Party has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to respond to its Jantar Mantar protest and Sonam Wangchuk's fast. The letter seeks accountability over exam paper leaks, student suicides and alleged police excesses.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday released an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to break what it called his "resounding silence" over the group’s protest at Jantar Mantar and to hold Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable over alleged exam paper leaks and student suicides.
In the two-page letter, the CJP said its protest had entered its 15th day, while activist Sonam Wangchuk was on the seventh day of his indefinite fast. The group said it had launched the agitation against repeated exam paper leaks, the education minister’s refusal to accept "moral responsibility" and resign, and the government’s "failure" to provide justice and relief to families of students who died by suicide.
The letter, titled "A Question of Humanity: How Long Will You Ignore Jantar Mantar?", was signed by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and spokespersons Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Vaishnavi Gaur, Aafreen Nawaz, Deepak Baliyan, Ratna Singh and Vijeta Dahiya. It also asked why the prime minister had not responded despite the prolonged agitation, which began at Jantar Mantar on June 20.
"We have been sitting in protest at the Jantar Mantar for the past 15 days, and today marks the seventh day of educationist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike. How long will your government choose to ignore our voices, sir?" the CJP said in the letter.
"A hunger strike in a civil society is meant to bring moral pressure upon the powers that be. The underlying principle is simple: when someone like Sonam Wangchuk, a man who has dedicated his entire life, mind and soul to this country and to the cause of education, refuses to consume food, it is supposed to elicit a conscious response, whether moral or political, from the government of the day. Yet, you have not spoken a single word," it said.
The CJP said, "We are sitting here because your government has repeatedly failed to stop exam paper leaks that have shattered the faith and future of crores of young Indians." It also claimed that the number of such deaths had risen from 11 before the protest began on June 20 to 29.
"No government is above questioning. No minister is above responsibility. And no administration can silence citizens for demanding answers," the letter said, adding that the protest was "not just a political exercise but also a desperate cry to save the lives of our youth".
The group also accused the Centre of responding to peaceful protesters with contempt instead of dialogue. "Instead of an empathetic dialogue, your minister Dharmendra Pradhan has labeled us terrorists, and your party president has called us names, threatening that the youth of India will be ‘taught a lesson’ for daring to raise our voices against this broken, corrupt system and these preventable deaths," the CJP said.
Accusing the prime minister of maintaining a "resounding silence", the group asked, "Your resounding silence makes us ask - do you truly believe we are just ‘cockroaches’?" It added, "If you, as the prime minister, refuse to respond to the Cockroach Janta Party’s peaceful hunger strike, your silence stands as a tacit admission that you view the youth of this country as nothing more than pests to be ignored."
The youth movement also claimed that Delhi Police personnel assaulted students at the protest site and threw books onto muddy roads. It demanded the immediate suspension of two Delhi Police officers, alleging that books on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were desecrated during the incident.
The letter said the alleged police action reflected a "disdain for knowledge itself" and asked why students protesting for educational reforms could not maintain a small library at the protest site. "Break your silence, listen to the voice of India’s future before it is completely lost, and hold your minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable," the CJP said.
The protest has drawn support from several political leaders and civil society members, including CPI(M)’s M A Baby and Brinda Karat, CPI’s D Raja and Annie Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, social activist Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj, RTI activist Nikhil Dey and Trinamool Congress MPs Sagarika Ghose and Mahua Moitra. The protest began on June 20 over irregularities in several exams, including NEET-UG, the national medical entrance test held on May 3, which was cancelled over alleged paper leaks on May 12.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday released an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to break what it called his "resounding silence" over the group’s protest at Jantar Mantar and to hold Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable over alleged exam paper leaks and student suicides.
In the two-page letter, the CJP said its protest had entered its 15th day, while activist Sonam Wangchuk was on the seventh day of his indefinite fast. The group said it had launched the agitation against repeated exam paper leaks, the education minister’s refusal to accept "moral responsibility" and resign, and the government’s "failure" to provide justice and relief to families of students who died by suicide.
The letter, titled "A Question of Humanity: How Long Will You Ignore Jantar Mantar?", was signed by CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and spokespersons Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka, Vaishnavi Gaur, Aafreen Nawaz, Deepak Baliyan, Ratna Singh and Vijeta Dahiya. It also asked why the prime minister had not responded despite the prolonged agitation, which began at Jantar Mantar on June 20.
"We have been sitting in protest at the Jantar Mantar for the past 15 days, and today marks the seventh day of educationist Sonam Wangchuk’s indefinite hunger strike. How long will your government choose to ignore our voices, sir?" the CJP said in the letter.
"A hunger strike in a civil society is meant to bring moral pressure upon the powers that be. The underlying principle is simple: when someone like Sonam Wangchuk, a man who has dedicated his entire life, mind and soul to this country and to the cause of education, refuses to consume food, it is supposed to elicit a conscious response, whether moral or political, from the government of the day. Yet, you have not spoken a single word," it said.
The CJP said, "We are sitting here because your government has repeatedly failed to stop exam paper leaks that have shattered the faith and future of crores of young Indians." It also claimed that the number of such deaths had risen from 11 before the protest began on June 20 to 29.
"No government is above questioning. No minister is above responsibility. And no administration can silence citizens for demanding answers," the letter said, adding that the protest was "not just a political exercise but also a desperate cry to save the lives of our youth".
The group also accused the Centre of responding to peaceful protesters with contempt instead of dialogue. "Instead of an empathetic dialogue, your minister Dharmendra Pradhan has labeled us terrorists, and your party president has called us names, threatening that the youth of India will be ‘taught a lesson’ for daring to raise our voices against this broken, corrupt system and these preventable deaths," the CJP said.
Accusing the prime minister of maintaining a "resounding silence", the group asked, "Your resounding silence makes us ask - do you truly believe we are just ‘cockroaches’?" It added, "If you, as the prime minister, refuse to respond to the Cockroach Janta Party’s peaceful hunger strike, your silence stands as a tacit admission that you view the youth of this country as nothing more than pests to be ignored."
The youth movement also claimed that Delhi Police personnel assaulted students at the protest site and threw books onto muddy roads. It demanded the immediate suspension of two Delhi Police officers, alleging that books on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, B R Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh were desecrated during the incident.
The letter said the alleged police action reflected a "disdain for knowledge itself" and asked why students protesting for educational reforms could not maintain a small library at the protest site. "Break your silence, listen to the voice of India’s future before it is completely lost, and hold your minister Dharmendra Pradhan accountable," the CJP said.
The protest has drawn support from several political leaders and civil society members, including CPI(M)’s M A Baby and Brinda Karat, CPI’s D Raja and Annie Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, social activist Yogendra Yadav, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj, RTI activist Nikhil Dey and Trinamool Congress MPs Sagarika Ghose and Mahua Moitra. The protest began on June 20 over irregularities in several exams, including NEET-UG, the national medical entrance test held on May 3, which was cancelled over alleged paper leaks on May 12.
