Politics News

The Cockroach Janta Party will function as a pressure group for now, as that is what India needs at the moment, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters ahead of the CJP's core team meeting in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Dipke said the discussions will focus on the dwindling trust of people in institutions like the media and judiciary. The meeting will also take up issues like ethanol-blended fuel and rising unemployment, he said. "For now, CJP will be a pressure group, as what India needs now is a pressure group," Dipke asserted. CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said activist Sonam Wangchuk will continue to be their mentor and they will seek advice from him. Das further said they will push for withdrawal of FIRs against students who took part in the recent protests led by the CJP against the NEET paper leak and other exam irregularities. "We are talking with government representatives on this issue," he said. Das also said they are worki

Former West Bengal governor and senior Congress leader D Y Patil passed away due to prolonged illness at his residence in Maharashtra's Kolhapur on Tuesday, family sources said. He was 92. The veteran leader, who founded several educational institutions in the state, is survived by his sons, former minister and Congress leader Satej Patil, Sanjay Patil and Ajinkya Patil. Hailing from Kolhapur, Patil served as an MLA from 1967-78 before turning his focus to the education sector, founding the D Y Patil University, which offers courses in medicine, engineering and several other disciplines. A Padma Shri awardee, Patil had served as the governor of Tripura, Bihar and held additional charge of West Bengal.

Fresh off leading a high-decibel protest over the NEET paper leaks, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke now finds himself targeted over the funding for his studies abroad, which he asserted was facilitated through a scholarship and an education loan. In an exclusive interview with PTI at his home in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Monday, Dipke also dismissed exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen's comment drawing a parallel between the CJP's Delhi protest against exam irregularities and the 2024 stir that ousted Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime. "Protests in Bangladesh, Nepal are being used to defame us; we are different," he asserted. He remained unfazed by the Right to Information (RTI) query into his educational expenses and finances, insisting that he has not faced any personal attacks so far. A Surat-based RTI activist on Saturday said he had sought a probe into the finances of Dipke's father, a retired government employee who sent his son abr

The draft electoral roll will be published on July 31 as the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has been completed in Haryana. Haryana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) A Sreenivas said here on Saturday that 20,629 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) distributed enumeration forms to more than 2.06 crore electors, out of which about 1.72 crore enumeration forms have been digitised. However, the names of over 33.84 lakh could not be recorded. Of these, nearly 13.75 lakh had permanently shifted, 7.66 lakh were found to have passed away, 2.04 lakh were already registered as electors, 9.36 lakh were found absent, while nearly 1 lakh electors did not submit their enumeration forms due to other reasons. Sreenivas said the draft electoral roll will be published on July 31 and will be made available on the official website and at all designated publication centres. He said that claims and objections may be filed from July 31 to August 30. If the name of any elector does not appear in the .

The Cockroach Janta Party has called for nationwide protests on July 24 against alleged police brutality, urging student unions and organisations to coordinate demonstrations in their cities

For second straight day, Mumbai witnessed protests by Opposition parties and others on Tuesday in support of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which is seeking the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and to denounce police crackdown on its stir in Delhi. Thousands of people participated in a march to Parliament on Monday called by the CJP on the first day of the Monsoon session to push for the resignation of Pradhan over the NEET fiasco, but were prevented by Delhi Police from moving ahead, leading to violent clashes and stone pelting. Police used batons and tear gas to disperse marchers. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) staged a protest at Shivaji Park in Dadar, central Mumbai, in which party president Raj Thackeray's wife Sharmila also participated. The Shiv Sena (UBT) held a separate demonstration in the Dongri area. An elderly man at the Shivaji Park protest site told reporters that he travelled from Nivali in Akola district of east Maharashtra to Mum

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday questioned the government's design behind starting talks with his outfit, saying it was engaging in dialogue with CJP while simultaneously carrying out a police crackdown on protesters. "The government wasted our time. They invited our delegation. They seized their mobiles. Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das were, in a way, under house arrest at J P Nadda's residence," Dipke said addressing supporters at Jantar Mantar, where the protest over the NEET paper leak issue entered its 32nd day. "The whole plan was to scatter the team, so that when there is chaos, no one is there. That is why they kept them sitting for five hours and wasted our time. You call for talks on one hand, and unleash batons on students on the other hand," he alleged. The Centre has not responded to the allegations. In the first direct contact between the Centre and agitating CJP, Union Health Minister JP Nadda on Monday held talks with two representatives

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday removed its spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya from the post after a video surfaced showing him eating a burger during the police crackdown on the outfit's 'Chalo Sansad' march. In a statement, the CJP said Dahiya's conduct was inconsistent with the values of the movement. Responding to the criticism, Dahiya said people didn't see that he had not slept for two nights just like those who were at the protest site. "You hold me accountable as if it is my job to be a protester." The CJP has condemned the "deeply insensitive actions" of Dahiya. "We strongly condemn the deeply insensitive actions of our spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya, whose videos surfaced while peaceful protestors and our team were facing brutal police violence. Such conduct is unacceptable, shows a complete lack of judgment, and is wholly inconsistent with the values and principles of our movement," the statement said. "In response, we are removing Vijeta Dahiya as spokesperson of the ..

Several opposition leaders including NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal visited the Cockroach Janta Party's protest site at Jantar Mantar here on Tuesday, a day after the police crackdown on its 'Sansad Chalo' march, and extended support to the agitation over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations. Pawar, accompanied by party MP Supriya Sule, met injured protesters and members of the movement and condemned the police action during Monday's attempted march to Parliament. Among other political leaders who visited the protest site were Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant, Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji, AAP leader Gopal Rai, Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani, and a delegation of parliamentarians from Left parties. According to a statement issued by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Pawar said the voices of students demanding a fair and transparent examination system could not be silenced through force and assured that the NCP (SP) wou

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Tuesday claimed that Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke would contest elections on a Bhim Army ticket in the future, as every mass movement produces political leaders. This movement, however, still considers Prime Minister Narendra Modi its leader and looks to him for solving its issues, said the MP from Godda in Jharkhand. "Every movement has produced political leaders. The JP movement produced leaders, including Lalu Prasad Yadav. Arvind Kejriwal also emerged from Anna Hazare's movement," Dubey told reporters in the Parliament House complex. "Abhijeet Dipke may also contest elections in the future. Even in Nepal, those associated with the Gen Z movement eventually joined a political party. Similarly, Abhijeet Dipke will join a political party. I can say with certainty that he will contest elections on a Bhim Army ticket," he said. Thousands joined the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) "Chalo Sansad" march on Monday to demand the resignation of Unio

Andy Burnham said politicians had failed to bring the stability needed to raise living standards, something he said he would change with immediate policies, a longer term plan to be drawn up later

As the TVK consolidates power, an exodus from the AIADMK is redrawing the state's political landscape

The Maharashtra Congress on Saturday announced the appointment of its block presidents across the state as part of its ongoing "Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan", which it said is aimed at expanding the party's grassroots network. The newly appointed block presidents cover Konkan, North Maharashtra, Amravati, Nagpur, Marathwada and western Maharashtra, excluding Mumbai, Congress state president Harshvardhan Sapkal said in a statement. He said the appointments were made under the party's nationwide organisational restructuring campaign launched by the All India Congress Committee. Sapkal said observers were appointed for every district, who held consultations with local office-bearers and workers before finalising the appointments, adding that the entire process was conducted in a transparent manner. The objective of the exercise was to strengthen the Congress organisation at the grassroots and take the party's ideology to the village level, he said. The newly appointed block presidents wo

His "We the Leaders" movement launched recently was on the "right track" to transition into a political party by July and the goal is to achieve 50 lakh membership, former BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai said on Wednesday. Pointing out that at present 18 lakh members have joined the organisation "without any expectations," Annamalai, in a video interaction on a social media platform, said that membership was taking place not only online but also by meeting the people directly. Stating that the members have joined with the belief that the movement would bring in a big change, he said "after we start this movement as a political outfit, its activities will take on a different nature from this July and people are going to see it." Claiming that his movement "will not fail, will not lie, and will not lead the people to the wrong path", Annamalai said "for us, we are equal to all religions and there is no second thought about that". "Our aim in the coming months is that this ...

Even as the Trinamool Congress grapples with an unprecedented split, Shiv Sena (UBT), another major player in the Opposition camp, is staring at a crisis, with "six to seven" of its nine Lok Sabha MPs inclined to switch to the ruling Shiv Sena and camping in the national capital, sources said on Tuesday. It is learnt that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde was also headed to Delhi late on Tuesday. On its part, Shiv Sena (UBT) has dismissed the possibility of a split in its Lok Sabha ranks, with the party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut claiming that all its MPs remain united. Sources told PTI that Shinde was expected to land in Delhi late on Tuesday. "Six to seven MPs are likely to switch sides," a leader of the Shinde camp said, claiming that the move was linked to a possible elevation in the role of Aditya Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who currently heads the party's youth wing. The leader claimed that the MPs likely to ma

Let's just enjoy the rare spectacle of peaceful youthful defiance

DMK leader R S Bharathi rules out any future tie-up with Congress, challenges rivals ahead of local polls and dismisses TVK's rise as a temporary phenomenon

BJP members and volunteers offered prayers and participated in special rituals at Kamakshi Amman Temple in Kanchipuram for the success and strengthening of K Annamalai's 'Idhu Namma Iyakkam' movement

Jharkhand Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar on Saturday said the parental mapping of 75 per cent of voters with that of the 2003 electoral rolls has been completed in the run-up to the SIR exercise, scheduled to begin on June 20 in the state. The list of all unmapped voters will be displayed at all polling booths from Saturday, he said. All mapped voters would not need to submit any additional documents for the ensuing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Jharkhand now has 2.64 crore voters. "The parental mapping of 75 per cent voters in Jharkhand with that of the electoral rolls in 2003, when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was last held, has been completed so far. The list of all unmapped voters will be released starting today (May 23) at all polling booths across the state," the CEO said. He appealed to the electors to visit their respective polling centres and check their names in the unmapped voter list, he said. Kumar said people whose names appear in the unma

Manipur Chief Minister Y Khemchand Singh on Wednesday said that disarming people with firearms in all parts of the state was of urgent need, an official statement said. Singh made the remarks during a meeting with a delegation of Tangkhul Naga community from Sinakeithei Village in Ukhrul district who urged him to deploy state police forces in the village in view of the tense situation in the area. The delegation was also accompanied by Ukhrul MLA Ram Muivah of the Naga People's Front (NPF), an ally of the ruling BJP. The villagers demanded proper security in the area, adequate manpower in Sinakeithei police station and the proper functioning of the sub-divisional collector (SDC)'s office at Sinakeithei. Sinakeithei had witnessed several gun attacks by suspected militants following clashes between Kuki and Tangkhul Nagas since February this year. Replying to their demands, the chief minister told the villagers "that disarming people with firearms in all parts of the state is of urg