’70+ protesters were left starving while you partied’: CJP under fire as early member Meghnad S slams leadership over viral ‘resignation party’ video

Meghnad S CJP
Meghnad S slammed CJP leadership for organizing a party while its supporters who sustained the protest movement were left starving

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has landed in the middle of a fresh controversy after videos showing some of its prominent members celebrating Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation surfaced online, prompting criticism not only from political opponents but also from one of the organisation’s earliest co-founding members.

The videos, posted on CJP’s official X handle with the caption “Resignation ki khushi”, show spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, along with other members, dancing and celebrating at what appears to be an upscale hotel. The gathering reportedly took place after Pradhan resigned following weeks of protests over the NEET paper leak issue.

The celebrations quickly became a talking point on social media, with critics questioning whether such festivities were appropriate while students continued to face uncertainty over the examination controversy.

One of the strongest reactions came from Meghnad S, former Newslaundry propagandist who was among the earliest members of CJP, who publicly distanced himself from the leadership’s actions. In a strongly worded Instagram post, Meghnad alleged that while the leadership celebrated, dozens of volunteers who had sustained the 37-day protest were left stranded after the sit-in at Jantar Mantar was called off.

Meghnad S slammed CJP for organising a “resignation party” while leaving hundreds of its supporters in the lurch

He claimed that he and a handful of others had spent the previous two days arranging transport for abandoned volunteers and protesters using their own money. According to him, once the CJP leadership left the protest site, Delhi Police cleared the area, leaving many students and volunteers without food, shelter or assistance.

Expressing his anger over the viral videos, Meghnad wrote that more than 70 protesters and students had allegedly been left “starving” in Delhi while the leadership attended the celebration. He accused CJP of abandoning the very volunteers who had worked tirelessly to make the agitation successful and concluded his post by saying that the organisation had become “just another political party.”

The controversy also drew a political response from BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior Supreme Court advocate Mahesh Jethmalani. Sharing the videos on X, he questioned the funding behind the month-long agitation and criticised the timing of the celebrations.

“Seriously? The CJP leadership throwing a victory party at a hotel! After Delhi witnessed days of violence, these so-called youth activists switched on the music and began dancing,” Jethmalani wrote. He further asked who had financed the protesters’ travel, accommodation, food, equipment and other logistical expenses during the agitation.

The videos have since generated intense debate online. While supporters of CJP described the gathering as a private celebration marking what they viewed as the success of the protest movement, critics argued that the optics undermined the organisation’s claims of standing with students.

At the time of writing, neither CJP nor the leaders featured in the viral videos had publicly responded to Meghnad S’s allegations regarding the treatment of volunteers after the protest concluded.

Written by OpIndia Staff
Last modified at