A day after announcing it would function as a public pressure group rather than a political party, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday announced its first National Working Committee, appointing founder Abhijeet Dipke as national convener while also outlining plans to expand its organisational network across the country, PTI reported.
The announcement was made at a press conference following the conclusion of the CJP core team's two-day meeting at Dipke's residence in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Chief spokesperson Saurav Das and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka were named co-conveners of the organisation.
According to a statement issued by the CJP, the National Working Committee has ratified the party's inaugural national leadership roster.
"Over the next six months, the CJP will establish State Coordination Committees as well as Lok Sabha and city-level coordination units across India. No other persons have been named by the CJP as office-bearers other than those mentioned today," the statement said.
The organisation also announced zonal leadership responsibilities for North, South, East and North East, and West India.
Speaking at the press conference, Saurav Das announced the launch of a nationwide membership drive through the organisation's website.
"We are launching a membership drive through our website. Students, young professionals and workers can join us to raise their voices unitedly," he said.
He clarified that the organisation was not collecting any funds and urged people to remain cautious against anyone claiming otherwise.
Reiterating the organisation's stand, Das said the CJP would continue functioning as a public pressure group instead of entering electoral politics.
"People want the CJP to be a political party. But at this time, adding one more political party will not be useful. Instead of spending energy there, we will work at the grassroots level as awakening happens there. We will not transform the CJP into a political party at present," he said.
Co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said a CJP delegation would soon visit Jharkhand to meet students protesting over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations.
The protests in Jharkhand entered their 13th day on Thursday, with six demonstrators continuing an indefinite hunger strike.
The CJP also announced the launch of 'Kya bolti public' campaign next month to interact with people all over India and to get to know their issues.
The party came into prominence after it launched a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities related to NEET exam. The demonstration led to the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
