Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has hit back at Union minister Ramdas Athawale's invitation for him to join the Republican Party of India (A), questioning why he was branded "anti-national" only weeks ago.
Reacting to the offer on Instagram, Dipke shared the report and wrote, "Abhi ek mahine pehle toh me anti-national tha tumhare liye?" (Just a month ago, wasn't I anti-national for you?)
Photo Credit: Abhijeetdipke/ Instagram
Athawale, whose party is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, had on Monday suggested Dipke should consider joining the RPI (A) to "fulfil Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's dream" and help strengthen the organisation, according to Hindustan Times.
Calling Dipke "an Ambedkarite" who is "active and young," Athawale told reporters that his outfit represented a government that "believes people should be punished if they do wrong," and urged Dipke to join the ruling faction.
Athawale's comments appeared to refer to the CJP and student-led protests at Jantar Mantar last month over exam paper leaks, student suicides and education reforms. The protests added to the pressure on then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who resigned on July 25 and was replaced by Pralhad Joshi.
Pradhan had at the time blamed "anti-national forces" for his decision to step down, saying he wanted to prevent such elements from exploiting the Jantar Mantar situation and shield students from "legal complexities."
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Dipke's objection to the "anti-national" tag stems from his earlier criticism of BJP leaders over its use against protesting students.
On August 7, Dipke backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's call to not label Gen Z protesters “anti-national” for raising genuine concerns. He also urged Bhagwat to send the same message to BJP leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dipke said he agreed with Bhagwat's view that Gen Z protesters should not be labelled “anti-national”. He also criticised BJP leaders, including Pradhan and Nitin Nabin, for allegedly using terms such as “B-team of terrorists” and “virus” to describe protesting students.
ALSO READ: CJP's Abhijeet Dipke Warns Of Protest If 'Alcoholic' School Principal Not Ousted By Tuesday
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