The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Wednesday said its members, along with founder Abhijeet Dipke and Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk, will gather in Delhi on June 6 and seek permission to hold a protest at Jantar Mantar over the NEET and CBSE examination controversies, while demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
Addressing the party's first press conference at the Constitution Club of India here, CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, an independent journalist, said party members would receive Dipke at the airport before heading to Parliament Street Police Station to seek permission for the demonstration.
The party appealed to young people from across the country to join the protest.
"We have given an open call. Anybody can join us without a party banner. We are ready to have a dialogue with everybody, be it those in power or the Opposition," Das said.
He dismissed the Centre's transfer of CBSE Chairperson Rahul Singh and Secretary Himanshu Gupta on Tuesday as an "eyewash".
"We are demanding accountability in the system. The transfers are being projected as action, but there's a rot in the system," he said.
Das said Dipke, who is pursuing higher studies in the United States, is scheduled to land in Delhi at 8 am on June 6.
Dipke, a former core member of the AAP's social media team, has announced that Wangchuk will join the protest. Wangchuk on Wednesday reiterated his promise to participate if no action is taken by June 5, saying he would come "armed with nothing but peace and love".
He stressed that the protest must adhere to Mahatma Gandhi's principles of satyagraha and non-violent resistance.
"No matter how much power the other side has, our biggest weapons are what Gandhiji taught us," Wangchuk said.
Warning that protesters might even have to go to jail, Wangchuk referred to Dipke's earlier remarks that despite concerns about a possible arrest upon landing in Delhi, Dipke intended to exercise his democratic right to protest.
Recalling comments he made after his release from detention last year, Wangchuk said people should be willing to go to jail for a just cause to safeguard democratic rights.
Responding to questions about possible police action against Dipke, CJP spokesperson Vijeta Dahiya, whom the party described as a political researcher, author and filmmaker, said, "If Dipke is arrested, more people will rally behind us."
Another party spokesperson, Ashutosh Ranka, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and the London School of Economics who previously worked with consulting firm McKinsey & Company in London, expressed confidence that the protest would receive official permission.
"Jantar Mantar has historically been a site for peaceful dissent. We are confident that police will give us permission," he said.
Dahiya said the movement reflected growing dissatisfaction among young people with the political system.
Asked what the party's next course of action would be if Pradhan resigned before the protest, Ranka said the group's response would depend on developments over the next two days.
Responding to questions about the CJP's alleged links with the AAP, Ranka said, "Our past affiliations are not important. This fight is bigger than that."
On May 22, the Delhi High Court issued notices to Das and AAP leader Gopal Rai on a plea seeking contempt proceedings against them over an alleged "orchestrated social media campaign" against Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, who had recently recused herself from hearing the Delhi excise policy case.