Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday welcomed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's upcoming interaction with students but argued that such engagements would have greater impact if they featured representatives from Generation Z themselves.
Dipke also expressed solidarity with students in Jharkhand who are protesting alleged recruitment examination paper leaks, accusing the state government of failing to address their concerns.
Bhagwat is scheduled to interact with Gen Alpha and Gen Z students in Mumbai on August 6, where more than 2,000 students aged between 15 and 19 from over 100 cities are expected to participate.
Reacting to the event, Dipke welcomed the initiative but said conversations with young people should also include young leaders.
"It is good that dialogue is taking place. But it will be even better if some young faces are deployed for this," Dipke told reporters.
He claimed the growing influence of young voters had prompted the political establishment to engage more actively with them. “The youth has forced this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to post a reel on Instagram, and Mohan Bhagwat also wants to interact with Gen Z," he said, adding, “Though it is late, they have understood that Gen Z cannot be ignored. These youth are the future of the country, and we have to talk to them.”
However, Dipke maintained that the interaction would be more meaningful if it was led by people closer to the students' age. "If people aged 70 or 80 are talking, it is good. But what will Gen Z get out of it? Gen Z needs young representation. If youth interacts with youth, it will be even better," he said.
Dipke also extended support to students staging an indefinite protest at Jaipal Singh Munda Stadium in Ranchi over alleged paper leaks in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) examination and other recruitment tests. Claiming to have spoken with the protesters over the phone, he alleged that they were being denied basic facilities."They are not allowed to pitch their tents, and there are no washroom facilities for them. The treatment in Jharkhand is similar to how we were treated at Jantar Mantar. CJP stands with these agitators," he said.
The protesting students have demanded an inquiry by an independent panel of retired High Court judges from outside Jharkhand, alleging that the state government's decision to hand over the investigation to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is an attempt to "whitewash" the issue.
The protesters have also reiterated their demand for a CBI investigation, along with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe, alleging that the recruitment scam involved large-scale financial irregularities.
