CJP rebel floats CJP-D, calls Dipke's party Team Kejriwal
THE Abhijeet Dipke-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) appears to have been hit by its first rebel, with former volunteer Manish Brahmbhatt launching a breakaway platform called the Cockroach Janata Party-Democratic (CJP-D).
Brahmbhatt has accused CJP founder Dipke of sidelining protesters and turning the youth-led movement into a hand-picked "Team Kejriwal". He alleged that the CJP's leadership was dominated by people previously associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was interested only in opposing the BJP.
The CJP or Dipke had not responded to Brahmbhatt's allegations at the time of publishing of this report.
Earlier in August, Manish Brahmbhatt had travelled from Gujarat to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after learning that CJP's core team was meeting at Dipke's residence. Brahmbhatt and his associate, Rahul Pandya, had protested outside Dipke's home, alleging that active volunteers from the Jantar Mantar protests had been excluded from the discussions. Both were later hospitalised after their health deteriorated during the protest. Then, Brahmbhatt was identified as a "CJP worker" in news reports.
Abhijeet Dipke founded the CJP as a satirical online movement on May 16 after remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant referring to certain people as "cockroaches" and "parasites" triggered outrage. It began as an online joke and developed into a youth platform which raised issues such as unemployment, examination paper leaks and alleged irregularities in the education system.
Announcing the formation of CJP-D in Delhi on Thursday, Brahmbhatt alleged that the original movement had been captured by people serving the political interests of Kejriwal and the AAP.
"Today, we are launching the Cockroach Janata Party-Democratic. The reason for this launch is that the original Cockroach Janata Party team, which emerged from a movement built on the blood and sweat of the people, subsequently transformed itself solely into a hand-picked team for Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. They aim to engage in political deals. They show no interest in fighting for the issues faced by students or people from other states; instead, acting merely at Kejriwal's behest, they want to oppose the BJP only to support parties that are anti-BJP," Brahmbhatt told news agency ANI.
He alleged that eight people selected for CJP's team had links with the AAP. The claim has not been independently established. Brahmbhatt also claimed that the dissenting volunteers had proposed a national structure that would provide representation to protesters from across India. Questioning the composition of the CJP's leadership team, Brahmbhatt alleged that the people and communities that supported the Jantar Mantar agitation had not been represented.
Earlier, the CJP had announced a national working committee with Dipke as its national convenor. That was when Brahmbhatt and his aides alleged that the selection process favoured people close to Dipke and did not adequately consult those who had participated in the agitation.
While Dipke has acknowledged his own previous association with the AAP, he has maintained that he no longer has any connection with the Kejriwal-led outfit.
Kejriwal and other AAP leaders had appeared alongside Dipke during the CJP-led agitation at Jantar Mantar. That public support and the past AAP associations of some CJP members have fuelled questions about the relationship between the two organisations. However, neither their participation in the protests nor previous political associations prove Brahmbhatt's allegation that CJP operates under Kejriwal's instructions.
