New Delhi; Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged party volunteers to spend time with their families during the festive period and asked them not to harbour hatred against anyone.
In a video message to volunteers on Tuesday, Dipke acknowledged the difficulties they and their families had faced in recent months.
“For the last few days, all of you have been struggling hard on the streets and you have borne so much. I am so fortunate to have such virtuous and righteous people fighting for what they believe in and what is right,” he said.
“I know what you have gone through in these months, and our families have also suffered so much. I request all cockroaches to spend time with your families. Your families must be worried,” Dipke added.
He said the movement was fighting against hatred and cautioned volunteers against allowing the same sentiment to take root among them.
“We are fighting against hatred. That hatred should not come inside us,” he added.
His message came after CJP leaders Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to judicial custody for two more days.
The two were arrested by Delhi Police on October 13 on charges of illegally entering Jantar Mantar and allegedly violating bond conditions. On Monday, a Delhi court extended their custody by two days.
A petition challenging the court’s decision and seeking their release is being filed in the Delhi High Court.
Dipke praised Das and Ranka for their role in the movement, describing them as its “backbones” and saying their contribution had been immense.
He also urged volunteers not to lose heart because of their incarceration.
“We will not back down. If Ashu and Saurav are in jail, we will not be frightened. We are fighting for what is right,” he said.
Invoking Mahatma Gandhi, Dipke compared the two leaders’ imprisonment to “satyagraha” and said Gandhi, too, had gone to jail smiling.
He appealed to supporters to remember Das and Ranka during the festivals, saying the two would be unable to celebrate with their families.
Dipke also rejected comparisons between the movement in India and those witnessed in Nepal and Bangladesh, stressing that their campaign was rooted in non-violence and Gandhian principles.
Dismissing suggestions that the CJP had backed down, he said: “We are not afraid. Nobody can frighten us.”
(IANS)
