CJP founder urges Nashik tribal students to call off hunger strike; vows to join Mumbai march if needed

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday urged tribal students protesting in Nashik to call off their hunger strike in view of their health but said they should continue the fight till their demands are met. Dipke met the protesting students at Nashik and said the disparity in facilities, food and education available to tribal students was "completely unacceptable".

"Met with the tribal students in Nashik who have been on a hunger strike for 12 days. The vast disparity in the facilities, food, and education they receive is completely unacceptable. This led to death of 590 tribal students within 2 years," he said in a post on X. "I urged them to call off the strike for their health, but they must keep fighting until their demands are met. If necessary, we will march to Mumbai together," Dipke said.

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More than 100 tribal students from different parts of Maharashtra are participating in the protest at Eidgah ground in Nashik, with three of them on hunger strike. Vivek Gavit from Nashik, Rahul Pawara from Surgana (Nashik) and Laxmi Jadhav from Nandurbar are on an indefinite hunger strike demanding that the government accept their demands.

The protesters have claimed 592 students have died in ashram schools in the state and demanded compensation for their families and suspension of officials responsible. They have also sought the resignation of the tribal development minister in view of alleged suspicious deaths in ashram schools and shortcomings in student safety. Other demands include fresh food for students in tribal hostels instead of the centralised food system, an end to the alleged collection of money from students in the name of donations, and a committee involving tribal social organisations to probe alleged corruption in the Tribal Sports Academy. The protesters have also sought insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh for every ashram school student. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray met the protesters on Thursday and extended support to their agitation.