Why I Won’t Support the CJP Protest

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

So, some people are asking me why I am not supporting the CJP protest. They are asking why I am only reporting on the wrongs committed at the Jantar Mantar rally yesterday, and how cops were attacked. According to them, I’ve fallen from grace because I am showing the flip side of the protestors.

Questions the Supporters Need to Answer

To them all, I have some questions:

• Who pelted stones and bricks on cops?
• Who snatched their uniforms, protective shields, and caps?
• Who talked about destroying the Parliament building?
• Who vandalized public property—broke walls and pavements, and threw stones at buses?
• Who molested young girls in the rally?
• Who talked about mob-lynching the PM?
• Who said, “we can exert more pressure if some people are killed today,” and actively tried to kill some?
• Who started calling journalists “Godi Media” when they couldn’t answer simple questions?
• Who wanted to create bloodshed on the streets of Bharat, like what happened in Nepal?

And I have broader questions:

Why was a J&K legislator talking about Article 370?
And, why was religion brought into the protest?
Why was ‘Bas Naam Rahega Allah Ka’ sung from the stage?
From whom do they want “freedom” when they chanted ‘Hum leke rahenge Azadi?’
Why was Tikait claiming tractors were waiting at the Delhi borders?
While the Punjab government is quashing agitations to maintain peace, why is Delhi doing everything to shred it to smithereens? Is this their desperate way of grabbing power since people are voting them out in every election?

Did you really think these were the young students you are fighting for? Well, I don’t think so. That makes me a “hated journo.” But do I care? No, I don’t.

I never picked up this profession to stay in the good books of a particular class, party, or community. I picked it for the truth I promised to bring to the forefront. If the truth makes you uncomfortable, better grow up.

I won’t shame the Cops or the Governments just because it is the ‘in-thing’ these days. I am an Army kid, and I know what all security forces undergo – on daily basis – to keep us safe and secure. Their grueling routine, their limitations are not lost on me.

Violence Has Consequences

We must understand – extreme situations demand extreme actions. The Newton’s Third Law of Motion isn’t just applicable in physics, but in all aspects of life. To every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, does the Law of Karma – As you sow, so shall you reap. When the protesters hit at cops, they should be ready to accept the lathi-charge. Or should the cops be sitting ducks to mob-violence.

And, should I downplay cops and the harm done to them just because they are supposed to maintain law and order?

When a Protest Turns Into a Mob

When the crowd charged at the cops, it didn’t even listen to their leader Abhijeet Dipke, who was constantly asking them not to do so through the loudspeaker. Mob mentality is like that only. It’s raw animal behaviour at play. Many cops got hurt, and the lathi-charge came after that. Everyone knows that, but some prefer to overlook the fact that cops were targeted first.

So, were these the students affected by the NEET PAPER LEAK. No. They are anarchists and goons of political parties who want to destabilise the country. And I love my country too much to have any affection for these people. Their motives are sinister – otherwise what happened at the CJP Rally wouldn’t have happened at all.

The Real Issue: Paper Leaks

Now, lets talk about the actual cause – the Paper Leaks. A paper leak is rarely the result of a single administrative failure. There are organised networks involving examination mafias, corrupt officials, coaching operators, and individuals willing to purchase leaked papers.

Don’t think, I am condoning paper leaks. I am not. It goes without saying that there should be stronger safeguards to stop the leaks. And I do feel while Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should have resigned taking moral responsibility, the moot point is will the resignation solve this issue? More importantly, which politician has ever resigned taking moral responsibility? All politicians are alike, they don’t want to leave their seats of power. We all know that.

Fix the System, Not Just the Headlines

So, my considered opinion is one must not hit the roadblocks head on – rather work around them. It is more important to eliminate paper leaks permanently, and dismantle the criminal networks.

And that the government did.

The government investigated into it, held a re-exam, and has introduced stricter legal provisions. There are indications that in future, NEET examinations may be done online & in phases.

Whether these reforms will be effective only time will tell, but one cannot deny that the government is surely attempting to address the problem – sincerely.

Did the Protest Remain About Students?

Did the CJP leaders inform the students about all this? No. They were too busy getting political leaders and celebrities to their platform – as the main motive was not students’ welfare but attack Central Government.

All this became amply clear a few days after the protest started – when a fasting Sonam Wangchuk – was found telling the protestors to fast for one day at least. No one cared.

The Questions That Still Need Answers

Looking at how this agitation started and panned out, I have some larger questions too:

Who propped Abhijeet Dipke as a messiah of students?

Why did he flow down from US to start this agitation?

Whose backing does he have?

Also, who was/is funding this protest?

Who is managing the unending supply of food for the protesters?

Democracy Allows Protest, Not Anarchy

Protest is a constitutional right. More so, in a democracy. But violence is NEVER. Talking about killing others and breaking the country into pieces is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. No one – ABSOLUTELY NO ONE – has the right to take public or the state to ransom.

Closing this straight-from-heart piece, I would say – If you don’t like the government, exercise your power & vote it out. In the next election, do not treat the voting day as a holiday, come out of your home and vote the political party of your choice. But, for God’s sake, stop this anarchy – don’t hit my country’s Forces and don’t vandalise its property. And, FINALLY, stop using students for your ulterior motives. Like they say, be a man enough to own up!