Hyderabad: Volunteers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) who were part of a 36-day agitation in Delhi, which culminated in the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on July 25, held a victory march and demonstration at People’s Plaza on Wednesday, July 29, training their sights next on education reform in Telangana.
Around 70 Telangana volunteers who had participated in the Delhi movement assembled at Necklace Road through the afternoon, waving the national flag and performing protest songs, rap and compositions of folk singer Gaddar.
The group also paid tribute to students who died following the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak.
CJP Telangana coordinator Vijay Mallangi told the Times of India that the party’s demands from the state government include raising the education budget to at least 15 per cent, improving infrastructure in government schools, clearing delayed fee reimbursements and fixing accountability in question paper leak cases.
The party also sought the withdrawal of first information reports (FIR) filed against those who had taken part in the protest.
Mallangi said the group would now reach out to student organisations, begin membership enrolment and seek a dialogue with the state government. “We want to work on educational reforms in Telangana,” he said.
The CJP announced plans to draft a student charter in consultation with student bodies. Mallangi said the proposed charter would draw from a policy brief on education reforms prepared by Akunuri Murali, former chairperson of the Telangana Education Commission (TEC), who resigned in May.
Climate and social justice activist Ruchith Asha Kamal, who coordinated Telangana’s CJP volunteers during the Delhi movement, linked the agitation to “rampant privatisation in education,” arguing that schooling and basic needs should be freely available. He told Deccan Chronicle that the youth of Telangana rejected the prevailing model of privatisation and corruption.
Mallangi said the CJP withdrew from the Delhi agitation after Union ministers indicated the government had accepted the party’s demands, an exchange he described as a “gentleman’s agreement.” However, he expressed concern over continuing police action in Delhi, Bihar and West Bengal, and warned that the group would return to protest if the government failed to make good on its word.
