The mother of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has alleged that her son received a video threat warning him to join the BJP or face serious
consequences for his family. Speaking to a Marathi news channel on Wednesday before Abhijeet’s return from New Delhi, his mother, Anita Dipke, claimed that the alleged threat forced the family to leave their home and stay with relatives in the Konkan region for 16 days. Anita said Abhijeet initially did not tell his parents about the threat, but later informed them that he had received a video and advised his mother not to watch it. According to her, the video warned that his parents would be “dealt with sternly” if he refused to join the BJP. She said Abhijeet subsequently asked his parents to leave their home and stay elsewhere for a few days as a precaution. “Abhijeet told me that he himself was not afraid of such threats, but asked us to stay away from home as we are not used to such things,” Anita said. The family then moved to a relative’s residence in Konkan, where they stayed for 16 days, she added. ''He was worried as he was not with us at that time and also because his father suffers from low blood pressure,'' she added.
'Abhijeet was afraid of his father': Dipke's mother
His father said that being involved in social work means one will have to face criticism.
"But there are people who applaud your work. People whose thinking is 'fixed' indulge in criticism, while others deliberate on the happenings before reacting," he said.
Dipke's mother said Abhijeet was afraid of his father, and narrated an old incident to prove her point.
"Once he brought a plumber home for some repair work. However, the plumber broke the pipe, which led to water getting accumulated in the entire house. That day, he was supposed to travel somewhere around 5 pm. But he packed some clothes and stepped out at 12 pm to avoid facing the wrath of his father,'' she said.
''He got the fault fixed immediately. But I did not tell his father about the incident for the next six months,'' she added.
Abhijeet formed the CJP, a satirical online movement, on May 16, following remarks made during a Supreme Court hearing by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant. It transformed from an online parody into a nation-wide youth-led protest movement that culminated in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan last week.
Abhijeet was living in Boston, USA, when he formed the CJP. He subsequently returned to India to transition the digital campaign into street protests.
(With PTI inputs)
