Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has alleged that Indian politics over the past decade has been centred on the Hindu-Muslim agenda, arguing that such issues do little to address pressing concerns like unemployment.
Addressing a press conference in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar a day after leading a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, Dipke reiterated his demand for Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the alleged NEET paper leak and CBSE OSM glitches.
He also maintained that the CJP movement is apolitical and will not align itself with any party.
Dipke said the country's political discourse needs to shift towards issues that directly affect young people, particularly employment and education.
He stressed that employment remains a major concern for the country's youth and that the agitation would continue beyond the demand for Pradhan's resignation.
Defending the demand for the education minister's resignation, Dipke said accountability was missing in the wake of repeated examination-related controversies.
He also took aim at remarks allegedly made about those who participated in Saturday's protest at Jantar Mantar, pointing to the turnout at the demonstration.
The CJP founder rejected comparisons between his movement and youth-led protests and regime-changes seen in some neighbouring countries such as Nepal and Bangladesh.
He added that future agitations would be organised on a larger scale while continuing to remain peaceful.
Even as political leaders and organisations have expressed support for the agitation, Dipke insisted that CJP would remain independent.
