The founder of a viral satirical party in India was slapped during a crowded rally in the northern city of Jaipur on Monday even as the youth-led anti-government movement continued to gain traction.
Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the Cockroach Janta Party last month to challenge Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government on issues of unemployment and botched exams, was hoisted on the shoulders of his supporters when two men emerged from the crowd and repeatedly slapped him.
Mr Dipke was visibly startled but urged his supporters to not fight back as they jostled to get hold of the attackers.
He said that “physical attacks are a sign of fear and cowardice” and vowed to continue his protest despite such “tactics to scare, threaten and deviate” the movement from its demands.
“We will do our protest peacefully and democratically and not deviate from our main issue, which is about more than one crore students suffering injustice,” Mr Dipke said in a video message.
In a social media post, Mr Dipke alleged his attackers belonged to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the mothership of Hindu nationalist groups in India, including Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
“There were some people belonging to RSS and there is nothing new in it. Whenever someone speaks against the government or their ideology, they do like this,” he said. “There is nothing new in it.”
Ashutosh Rana, a spokesperson for the Cockroach Janta Party, said that Mr Dipke’s attackers “belong to a national party”.
“Their faces have been identified,” he added. “All of these miscreants will be exposed.”
Police said that five people had been detained and questioned in connection with the incident. “An investigation has been launched and the entire sequence of events is being examined,” they added.
One of the suspected attackers, identified as Rakesh Gurjar, said he attacked Mr Dipke because he was “misleading the people”, the Indian Express newspaper reported. He described himself as a “nationalist from Jaipur” who wasn’t associated with any party.
The cockroach party has been holding protests across cities to demand the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The demand was sparked by the cancellation of the national medical entrance exam last month following the leak of the question paper. The protests against the botched exam quickly turned into an outlet for youth frustration over India’s education system and limited job opportunities.
The party adopted its unusual name after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant likened critics and some unemployed youth to cockroaches during a hearing at the Supreme Court in May, sparking backlash from frustrated young Indians.
Mr Dipke, a political communications strategist and Boston University student, used the chief justice’s insult as inspiration for a parody political party. Within a week of launching a website and social media accounts, the party’s Instagram page had amassed more than 22.5 million followers.
Mr Dipke said cockroaches represented resilience. And like cockroaches, he added, common citizens – especially students and youth frustrated with exam scandals and unemployment – were often treated as insignificant but continued to endure and adapt.
