New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- Union minister Ramdas Athawale has invited Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke to join the Republican Party of India (Athawale), which is part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre. Athawale said Dipke, whom he described as a young and active Ambedkarite, should consider joining the RPI(A) to contribute to society and help strengthen the party. He also linked the invitation to what he described as the government's position that those responsible for wrongdoing should face punishment. The offer comes in the wake of the student-led protests at Jantar Mantar over examination-related issues. Athawale appeared to refer to the protests while urging Dipke to join the ruling alliance.
However, Dipke has not responded to the invitation so far. He has previously said that he does not intend to enter electoral politics or turn the CJP into a conventional political party. Instead, he has maintained that the organisation should function as a public movement or pressure group. Earlier this month, Dipke said people were increasingly losing faith in political parties and the electoral system, arguing that the country needed a public movement rather than another political party. The CJP founder has also recently launched a "School Thik Karo" campaign in Maharashtra, focusing on conditions in government schools and calling for better basic facilities for students and a cap on private school fees.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.