E-Paper
Abhijeet Dipke's mother breaks down as Pradhan resigns: ‘Couldn’t sleep, was worried about him'
Abhijeet Dipke's mother Anita had tears in her eyes as she recalled what her son witnessed over the past few days as he led the CJP protest in Delhi.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke's parents broke down on camera as news of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepping down surfaced on Saturday. Interacting with the media, Dipke's mother hailed her son's “massive victory” and said she had sleepless nights because she worried about him.
“He had to sleep amidst mosquitos…he was diagnosed with typhoid,” an emotional Anita Dipke said, adding she couldn't sleep till 3 in the night worrying about her son. Dipke's father also turned emotional. Follow live updates here.
Earlier today, Dipke said he was diagnosed with typhoid but vowed that his illness would not slow the movement. The CJP has been spearheading a big student protest in Delhi since last month. A key demand of this agitation was the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan.
However, with Pradhan's resignation and the government accepting all other demands of Dipke's outfit, the CJP has ended its protest.
‘Feel very happy today’
Anita Dipke, Abhijeet's mother, said she was “very happy” now the Pradhan has tendered his resignation. “I feel very happy today. It has been a wonderful day. I am extremely happy. He (Abhijeet) has finally received the reward for his sincere efforts...He was determined, and he kept saying that his demand had to be met...,” she told news agency ANI.
She also said that the family was worried at first because Abhijeet was alone, but got some relief after scores of students joined his cause at the protest site.
“Our son was alone there, even though many other students were with him. As parents, we were scared...When he was slapped in Jaipur, it hurt us deeply. We couldn't sleep that night...We plan to welcome him by distributing sweets and celebrating together…,” Anita said.
Abhijeet Dipke was manhandled during his Jaipur visit last month. While he was being carried on the shoulders of supporters, some miscreants in the crowd pulled at his scarf, slapped him multiple times, and attempted to pull him down.
Besides, ink was thrown on him during the Jantar Mantar protest last week.
What next for the CJP protest?
The CJP has called off its protest today, hours after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. The announcement was made during a joint CJP-Centre presser that was held by union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh, and CJP spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka.
The government has also agreed to withdraw all police cases against protesters. In the joint presser today, JP Nadda said that a copy of the FIRs filed so far will be provided to the CJP and no action will be taken. “We all have said that there will be compensation according to the rules and regulations, whatever maximum will be possible will be given to them,” Nadda said.
The CJP protest grew bigger after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk began an indefinite hunger strike that he ended after 26 days. Protesters had been demanding Pradhan's resignation over the NEET paper leak and other alleged exam irregularities.
