New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday defended the party’s protests, asserting that peaceful demonstrations were a democratic right and accusing the government of restricting citizens’ freedoms and disrupting business activities through shutdowns, Internet suspensions and movement restrictions.
In a strongly worded post on X, Dipke said demanding accountability from the government, protesting against injustice and questioning public representatives could not be termed anarchy. He maintained that the party remained committed to Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of peace and non-violence despite what he described as attempts to provoke its members.
“Businesses do not suffer because of peaceful protests. They suffer when the govt decides to shut down an entire city, suspend Internet services, restrict the movement of its own citizens and turn the city into a war-zone,” he posted.
Emphasising the CJP’s commitment to non-violence, Dipke said the pressure group had organised peaceful protests in several cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur.
“Since its inception, the Cockroach Janta Party has maintained that we will always follow Gandhi ji’s path of peace and non-violence, and we have stood by that commitment. We have organised protests in Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Nagpur, and every single one of them has been peaceful. I was personally assaulted in Jaipur, but even then, I chose not to retaliate because responding to violence with violence goes against everything we believe in.
“We would rather exercise the rights guaranteed to us by the Constitution, drafted under the leadership of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, than resort to physical force. Our strength comes from our commitment to constitutional values, and no amount of provocation will make us abandon them,” he said.
Dipke also rejected allegations portraying the party as anarchist, arguing that peaceful dissent was an essential component of democracy.
“Despite this, there are constant attempts to portray us as ‘anarchists’ simply because we refuse to remain silent. But demanding answers from the govt is not anarchy, protesting against injustice on the streets is not anarchy, and questioning those who hold public office is certainly not anarchy. These are the most fundamental expressions of democracy,” he said.
Calling for greater accountability from elected representatives, he urged citizens to question those in power and speak out against injustice.
“A govt that has been elected by the people is bound to listen to the people, not silence them. Democracy does not end once the votes have been counted,” he added.
(IANS)
