“Some people sitting abroad think that they will dictate the direction to India’s youth,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Nabin said on Saturday, hours after a large crowd gathered at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to protest against recent exam lapses under the banner of Cockroach Janta Party.
The BJP chief said that while the youth “wants to work towards building of the nation and secure their future”, some people have “labeled this country’s youth as anti-establishment”.
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The protest was called by the youth-led CJP, a mock political party which emerged recently after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s alleged remarks on the unemployed youth of the country.
“To those who want to drag this country’s youth into negative politics, I warn them that India’s youth will engage in positive politics. We will oppose on the basis of democracy, but we will not allow the standards of democracy to be destroyed,” Nabin said at an ‘Intellectuals Meet’ in Ranchi.
The BJP shared a video clip of the speech on its official X handle. “Some people, sitting abroad, think that they will dictate the direction to India’s youth. But India’s youth will not move forward as puppets in the hands of a few people,” Nabin said.
Also read: Kids worry, parents feel the pressure too, both land up at ‘Cockroach’ protest
People have the right to oppose, but within democratic norms, he said.
He said the country’s youths are known for innovation and creation.
“Because of their dedication, hard work and efforts, around two lakh startups have come up. The country aims to become a global IT hub,” Nabin said.
“The anti-establishment campaigns we witnessed in our neighbouring countries can never be for the country’s youths, who will work in a disciplined manner to build the nation,” he said.
Video: What Nitin Nabin said
CJP demands education minister’s resignation
The central government has so far made no direct remarks on the CJP protest even as the protesters and supporters of the CJP demanded Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on account of major exam lapses, including NEET paper leak and CBSE OSM chaos, over the past few weeks.
In a statement after the protest, the party set a deadline o seven days for Pradhan’s resignation and threatened a nationwide agitation if no action is taken.
“If we want to reset the education system, it must begin with the removal of the Education Minister. As long as he remains in office, we cannot begin the process of restoring the education system of this country. This is the beginning of a movement. If no action is taken within seven days, this movement will spread across the country,” CJP said in its statement.
