Athawale advises Cockroach Janata Party to agitate on students' issues, not against Gyanesh Kumar

Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale has advised the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) to focus on students' issues instead of agitating against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Athawale said the party, which was formed over the paper leak in the NEET examination, should agitate for the education system, the examination system and the problems of students.

Speaking to the media on Sunday, Athawale questioned the role of the CJP's agitation. He said the party was formed for students' issues and its workers should stay true to their real purpose. "Your party was formed to raise the issue of the NEET paper leak. You had demanded the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Why is there a need to get involved in the Gyanesh Kumar matter now?" Athawale said. He suggested that the agitation should be on demands that students get good education, that examinations be held transparently and that necessary reforms be made in the education policy.

Athawale also defended Gyanesh Kumar. On the issue of large-scale deletion of names during the revision of electoral rolls, he put forward the Election Commission's side. According to him, the deleted names include migrant voters, voters with duplicate registrations and entries needing verification for other reasons. Referring to 13 crore voters' names, Athawale claimed that of these, six crore are linked to migration and one crore to duplicate registration.

Athawale also raised questions about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" allegations. He said the number of Congress Lok Sabha members rose from 42 to 99 under Rahul Gandhi's leadership. Athawale asked whether it should be said that BJP votes were stolen when the Congress succeeded in the election. He said governments are formed by the people's verdict, so it is not right to allege vote theft over every result. Athawale called the agitation demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation baseless and alleged that the opposition is trying to spread anarchy in the country by agitating against the Election Commission.

On the other hand, the Congress and other opposition parties have questioned alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission has called the process fair and rejected the allegations.

The CJP has intensified its agitation demanding Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. During the agitation in Delhi on October 10, police detained several workers, among them CJP leaders Abhijit Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka. After their release, party leaders have said they intend to continue the agitation. The CJP has said it will again seek permission for a peaceful agitation at Jantar Mantar and has warned that it will announce its next course of action if permission is not granted.

On Monday, October 12, opposition parties led by the Congress prepared to march to the Supreme Court. As a result, six metro stations in Delhi were closed and traffic restrictions were imposed on some routes.

Dharmendra Pradhan had resigned as Union Education Minister on July 25, 2026, after the agitation against irregularities and the paper leak in the NEET examination. The President had officially announced the acceptance of the resignation. Pralhad Joshi was then given additional charge of the Education Ministry.