‘Ready for arrest’: CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka on ‘School Thik Karo’ drive, says judiciary, ECI accountability next

Four months ago, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) was just a satirical Instagram page. Today, it’s a movement that pulled off 37 days of sustained protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar and forced the government to blink, securing education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation in the fallout of the NEET paper leak controversy that preceded over 20 student suicides in May 2026. Now, CJP is back with a new campaign – the “School Thik Karo” drive – an effort to audit rural schools across states and demand accountability from the state administration for their conditions.

Ashutosh Ranka, co-convenor of CJP, also a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and London School of Economics spoke with Careers360 about the campaign’s challenges, police brutality , right-wing opposition it has faced, and what lies ahead and how his participation comes with a “sense of giving back” for all the “taxpayers’ money spent on people like him”. Edited excerpts:

Q. You told Madan Dilawar, minister for school education of Rajasthan, to either fix every dilapidated school in Rajasthan or file an FIR against you.

This order was passed by the Rajasthan government the day after I visited the Thanagazi school. Neither could Dilawar say that the government will fix the schools, nor could he give us a list of 10 schools with decent infrastructure. In the last two-and-a-half years, Rajasthan's education system has gone for a toss. So they won't let anyone in the school.

But we don't fear them. I've been very clear that I'm ready to get arrested – it's a very small price to pay. Abhijeet Dipke and I are just trying to fix the education system of this country.

Q. How many audits have happened across schools in India till now? What process did you follow, and what impact have you seen on the ground?

The CJP protest, since day one, was about accountability. At Jantar Mantar, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan was at the face of this accountability. And in Jantar Mantar 2.0 – the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign – is to set the school accountability with the local government officials in order.

So far, it's very difficult to ascertain the exact number of visits, but there are at least about 1,500 school audits that have already been carried out across the country. And not just CJP volunteers, these visits are also being undertaken by the common people. We only want the government – not just the central government, but also the state governments – to prioritize the country’s school education.

Also read Locked Toilets to Teacher Shortage: CJP’s school audit campaign reveals chronic neglect of govt schools

Q. Your volunteer, 25-year old Shaik Abdul Hafeez’s father was beaten to death after a school inspection in Kolkata. How is the response of the state police and government ?

Abdul wanted to go and audit a government school in his village in Bankura district, West Bengal, and he went to the headmaster to ask for permission. The moment he came back after making a few videos of the poor condition of the schools, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) goons went to his house, beat him up. His father, who tried to intervene, was beaten up as well. When the family went to the hospital, they were beaten up again. His mother tried going to the police station but was not allowed inside. And eventually, his father succumbed to injuries.

The BJP government in West Bengal is four-months old. It could have probably tried to address this. But they are resorting to vandalism, violence and police harassment.

We now have four demands after a discussion with Abdul’s family. First, all the accused, including those still unidentified, should be arrested. Second, Abdul's family should be provided police protection. Third, Abdul wants a school built in the name of his father, and last, the local police station’s role should be investigated. We have given the government 10 days to address these demands.

Additionally, CJP will start a fundraising campaign from August 20. The funds will be directly taken into Abdul’s bank account.

Q. What specific safety protocol has changed for volunteers since?

The safety protocol has to be provided by the police, by the law and order agencies. We are not going out there and asking for votes. We are not going out there to create a law and order situation. We are going simply to audit government schools and fix accountability. It should be the role of the police and the local administration to make sure the volunteers are not harassed and assaulted.

People ask us for permission but who gave permission to the BJP goons to beat up our volunteers? 85,000 classrooms across 40,000 schools are in dilapidated state in Rajasthan. No one asked for permission while ruining these schools.

Textbooks don't reach the schools on time. Rooftops are falling. Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data shows these schools have proper libraries, and classrooms. But on the ground, there are no toilets or water facilities here. That means schools are not monitored properly, and that means your auditing is botched.

Q. Rajasthan, and now UP, have ordered restrictions on unauthorised photography, videography and interviews inside government schools, citing student privacy. How are you paving through these restrictions?

We will continue going to these schools. They may file FIRs, we are not really bothered. The day the government gives a clear plan on how they are going to fix the schools, we will stop visiting.

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Q. There has been a constant crackdown on school students and volunteers, in UP and other states. What is CJP doing to address this?

Our public schools are completely rotten. How many more years will it take the government to improve them? Also, Gen alpha, the school students, are fearless. They are asking for proper schools and proper teachers, not closure or merger of schools. They are not afraid anymore. With more government and police brutality , their fear will only reduce.

Q. After a few videos surfaced on social media, construction in a few schools have started in Maharashtra and UP? How are you tracking the impact ?

We are trying our best. But again, the campaign has to become a cultural norm. This has to become a citizens' movement where people, with or without our support, fight for their schools.

I think in Maharashtra alone, construction work at about 100 odd schools, whose videos we received, has already started. After our visit in Alwar, the Rajasthan government has given a budget of about Rs 400 crore to fix 300 dilapidated schools.

Q. The BCI withdrew its order restricting NALSAR's 2026 graduating class from enrolling as advocates after CJP's intervention . Later NLSUI also stopped Chief Justice Surya Kant from attending their convocation. Walk us through what CJP actually did, beyond social media pressure, to get that reversed.

We have been in touch with various bar associations, law universities, and student organisations. And we have been able to create a community that is working together, in tandem. More importantly, we have been able to create a culture where we have to fight together, not in isolation. What the Bar Council of India (BCI) chairman did to National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) students should not just be responded [to] by NALSAR students. Lawyers from across the country, people from across the legal fraternity had to oppose it. And they did. That's why that order was withdrawn.

Tonnes of information is available on the internet on the achievements of Manan Kumar Mishra in the last 12 years. Now it’s time for him to be held accountable. And we stand with everyone who is demanding his resignation.

Also read The Bar Council of India problem: Why legal education needs reform at the top

Q. The NEET paper leak protests forced Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation . What structural change has CJP’s core leadership brought since then?

We are trying to organise ourselves a bit more structurally. Jantar Mantar was a very quickly organised protest and we learnt on the go. But because of this movement, we are getting huge support. So now we need to organise better. We need to have a basic organisation, a basic structure in place across states, districts, and towns, so that we can start handing out responsibilities.

Ashutosh Ranka and Abhijeet Dipke during Jantar Mantar protest. (Image Source: Careers360)

Q. How was your experience personally?

It was exhausting, overwhelming and beautiful to see people of this country unite. From the stage, we saw a very happy, energetic, determined, and resilient India. Inside those barricades, it's a very different India which came together after a long time. Everyday, while sleeping on the stage of Jantar Mantar, we saw people volunteering, organising by themselves.

At one point, there were 50 people who would just be fanning other volunteers who were sleeping. It was a beautiful sight. Such a sense of community, patriotism and inclusivity will stay with us throughout.

Q. There have been claims that just after Pradhan’s resignation , CJP abruptly ended the protest, abandoning its volunteers. What do you have to say?

Just because our team was not out there making videos doesn't mean we were not looking out for them. CJP national secretary Aafreen Nawaz and her entire team was on the ground for the following four days just to make sure that those who needed support received it. Though we don't have funding, we still tried our best. Also, the sheer volume of the movement and scale of the protest made it impossible to account for everyone.

Look at the sheer scale of what CJP has achieved in two months because it was not just limited to Dharmendra Padhan's resignation. The Jantar Mantar protest has inculcated a culture of accountability. We have instilled fearlessness in the entire generation who are now asking the right questions and are standing up for their rights and issues. To expect us to be doing everything, being a small group of individuals, is unfair.

Q. How did CJP support the Jharkhand protest ?

The Jharkhand protest was being organised under the leadership of Devendranath Mahto. We have provided all possible support. Dipke and I had multiple calls with the team and also Mahto when he was in jail. We also sent our core team to provide them all forms of support – be it in terms of handling the state, logistics, food, security, crowd management. That team had been at the site since day one.

Q. There have been legal cases, detentions, both at Jantar Mantar and Jharkhand.

All the cases have now been withdrawn. None of our protesters or organisers is currently detained or arrested. This was essentially a state going back on its promise made on July 25, which was about withdrawal of cases and no future FIRs. There was a week when the state backtracked, but then, owing to the huge pressure from across the country, they finally gave in and written agreements have come out in most of the states.

Also read ‘We became a bridge’: Volunteers crowdfund to send stranded CJP protesters home after Jantar Mantar stir

Q. Meta took down CJP posts, its account has been withheld many times, recently on August 15. How do you see all of this together?

This is a government that has understood that social media is one of the most powerful mediums to express. Rather than focusing on talking and taking feedback, the government is again resorting to all forms of oppression. This will not stop the youth. People will find other ways and means to communicate, mobilise and socialise and form this community.

Q. What is CJP’s take on young women protestors being doxxed online for attending the protest and posting on social media?

It can't get any more disgusting and desperate than harassing a 15-year-old. Jantar Mantar was one of the safest protest sites for women. There were so many of them who stayed there for months. They felt safe inside those barricades. After the protest happened again, the right wing goons went on to incite violence, hatred, harass women online, and they'll continue to do so. But after a point, women will stop fearing. And once they do, where will you go?

Q. What are CJP’s further plans in terms of registering the organsiation, funding etc?

Ours has been a crowdsourced campaign. At Jantar Mantar, we used to have one small ‘pipa’ (steel container) near the stage where people could donate money. We would also ask for donations in kind such as food, carpets, tents, ‘tirpals’ (sheds) etc. Now we want to do it in a structured manner. But it will be a crowdsourced campaign, one that is funded by the people of this country.

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Q. Till now you have focussed on education issues. Do you plan to go beyond?

Our current priority is the education system and unemployment, which is closely related. Third, we want to work on institutional accountability, which focuses on the judiciary, election commission, and mainstream media. Some of our work, for example, against BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, is exactly in that direction. And these are the three broad themes that we'll focus on in the current months.

Q. You are from IIT Kanpur, one of India’s most elite institutions. How do you reconcile being a product of that system with a campaign focused on kids who don't even have benches or toilets?

I have been a beneficiary of one of the few pillars of the education system in this country that has probably worked. IIT being one of them. I always felt that so much of taxpayers’ money – in a country where 80 crore people rely on the government for free ration – is being spent on people like me. So there has always been that sense of giving back.

I really dream of an India where every student, irrespective of their demographies, identity, their urban-rural divide, caste or religion or gender, can access world-class education.

I am grateful to Dipke for giving me this opportunity.