&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'No space for violence': What CJP's Ashutosh Ranka told WION about attack on journalists at Jantar Mantar protest")
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Saturday (July 25) spoke to WION and condemned the violence against the journalists during the protest at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar. Ranka said that there is no place for violence and harassment of journalists who are on the ground and anyone who is a CJP supporter should not resort to it. He also alleged that “BJP goons provoked people" to attack reporters on the ground to defame the protest and the CJP. Several journalists were heckled, harassed in New Delhi while covering the youth protest as demonstrators accused them of being part of pro-government media networks. The Editors Guild of India and BJP also condemned the mob hostility against reporters.
“There is absolutely no space for violence, for vandalism, for heckling in this movement. If you are a true CJP supporter, you have to be peaceful, you have to be respectful, specially to female journalists, whatever media channels they belong to, there is absolutely no way on earth that you can heckle them or you can abuse them. But we also know that there are a lot of BJP goons out there in the public who are inciting people, who are creating ruckus. I request all the CJP supporters to stay calm,” Ranka said to WION.
CJP calls off the protest
The CJP called off their protest after Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the ruling BJP government accepted its remaining demands following a third round of talks. Union ministers JP Nadda and Jitendra Singh addressed a joint presser with CJP representatives Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das joint and agreed to provide financial aid to the families of students who died by suicide and ensured that no action would be taken against student protesters involved in the July 20 demonstration.
What Pradhan said in his resignation letter on Jul 25
In his resignation letter addressed to "my young friends," he said that he is resigning to prevent “anti-national forces from exploiting” the situation at Jantar Mantar and across the country. He said that he wants to make sure that “not a single Indian student's future gets entangled in legal complexities.” He also said that his resignation will allow students “to devote their time to studies and focus on building their careers.”
Despite protest going on since late June, Pradhan reacted only after Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi staged a protest outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence on July 21. He accused Gandhi of “exploiting students” and said that “we owe the students answers, reforms and accountability.” That said, he did not say anything on his resignation calls. He was active on social media even as protest intensified and kept sharing posts about education.
