The decision marks a cautious response by established parties to a fast-growing youth mobilisation that has gained millions of social media followers within weeks but remains outside the formal opposition framework. The Pune protest, planned at Savitribai Phule Pune University, is the second street action announced by CJP after its June 6 demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the Pune agitation after travelling to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, his hometown, following the Delhi protest. The group has said the demonstration will focus on alleged irregularities in examinations and recruitment tests, including the NEET paper leak controversy and concerns over CBSE’s On-Screen Marking system. CJP representatives have submitted an application to Chatushrungi police station for permission to hold the protest, and police have indicated that permission will be granted after formalities are completed.
Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders in Maharashtra have said they support the substance of CJP’s demand but will not take part in the agitation. Prashant Jagtap, chief of the Congress Pune East unit, said the party supported the call to remove Pradhan as education minister but would not join the protest as a political organisation. He said Congress was already raising issues such as the NEET paper leak, inflation and unemployment across states.
AAP has taken a similar position. Mukund Kirdat, the party’s state spokesperson, said CJP’s demand was valid and that the government should remove Pradhan without delay. He added, however, that AAP would not be part of Thursday’s agitation in Pune, saying CJP had begun a movement and was building a pressure group but had a long distance to travel if it intended to enter formal politics.
The INDIA bloc, comprising 23 parties, has demanded Pradhan’s resignation, but its constituents appear unwilling to formally align with CJP at this stage. The position reflects both tactical support and political distance: opposition parties are reluctant to cede space on education and youth issues, yet cautious about joining hands with a satirical platform that has built its appeal through anti-establishment messaging rather than party structures.
Dipke led the first CJP street protest in New Delhi shortly after returning from the United States. The agitation drew students and young supporters who demanded accountability for examination failures and alleged leaks that they say have damaged the prospects of millions of aspirants. Protesters carried copies of the Constitution and used symbolic imagery drawn from CJP’s name, which has become shorthand for a generation that says it feels ignored, mocked and pushed out of secure employment.
The movement’s rapid rise has been fuelled by anger over competitive examinations, recruitment delays, high coaching costs and youth joblessness. The country has nearly 400 million people aged 15 to 29, making education access and employment generation central political questions. Urban youth unemployment was close to 14 per cent in April, while graduates below 25 face far higher joblessness, intensifying resentment among students who spend years preparing for public examinations and professional entrance tests.
CJP says it is not aligned with any political party and has sought to frame itself as a youth-driven platform rather than a conventional organisation. Dipke has said protests will be taken across the country until Pradhan accepts moral responsibility for failures linked to the education ministry and resigns. He has also rejected allegations from BJP leaders that the movement is being amplified by hostile interests, saying its support base is overwhelmingly domestic.
