The atmosphere in New Delhi on July 20 during the Parliament chalo march was intensely testing, marked by thousands of protesters on the streets, heavy police deployment on all sides, and an extremely high-pressure environment. Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijit Dipke experienced an energy level that had dropped to absolute zero. By the third day of his hunger strike, his body had given up completely. Dipke had fainted early in the morning, and lacking the strength to walk on foot, he was forced to ride atop a truck.
However, the real twist in the narrative unfolded when Dipke desperately needed his two most trusted aides, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, but both of them were completely missing from the scene. Dipke kept dialing their numbers, but both phones remained out of reach. In a spicy interview, Dipke shed light on the entire drama of that day, his deeply pissed-off feeling, and a suspicious five-hour meeting involving BJP leaders.
Giving a detailed account of the day's events, Abhijit Dipke explained that Saurav and Ashutosh had gone for a meeting. A BJP delegation had called them and made them sit for five hours, whereas the actual meeting lasted for just ten minutes. Dipke stated that while the crowd at Jantar Mantar was growing aggressive and unruly on one side, his two key strategists were far away from him. He repeatedly tried calling both of them, but their phones were unreachable, which only escalated the tension.
Mentioning his physical condition, Dipke noted that July 20 marked the third day of his hunger strike. He admitted that he had no prior experience regarding what to do and what not to do during a hunger strike. For the first two days, he continuously addressed and interacted with the crowds, which drained whatever remaining strength he had by the third day. On the morning of the march, he fainted, compelling him to ride a truck instead of walking.
Dipke further stated that if Ashutosh and Saurav had been present at Jantar Mantar at that moment, managing the crowd and properly leading the parliament march would have been considerably easier. He added that had he anticipated this situation beforehand, he would have strictly forbidden both spokespersons from attending that meeting.
This parliament march by the CJP was a major component of a prolonged 37-day movement launched in protest against irregularities and malpractices in the NEET UG examination. On July 20, the very first day of the monsoon session of Parliament, protesters spread out from Jantar Mantar toward Parliament Street, Raisina Road, Janpath, Connaught Place, and India Gate. During this period, fierce clashes broke out between protesters and the Delhi Police at various locations. Following this intense multi-sided pressure, then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Prasad resigned from his post on July 25, after which the CJP called off its agitation.
