The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson made the allegation on Thursday while sharing a photograph on X that purportedly showed Modi with Dipke. The post was later removed, intensifying scrutiny over both the claim and the image. The photograph has not been independently verified, and there has been no official confirmation of such a meeting from the Prime Minister’s Office or the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Raut said someone had sent him the photograph and told him that Dipke came back only after meeting Modi in the United States. He added that he was gathering further information, while also saying he was placing before the public material that had reached him. The remark marked a sharp shift in the opposition’s approach to the Cockroach Janta Party, which had drawn support from several anti-BJP voices after mobilising young protesters around education and employment issues.
Dipke has denied meeting the prime minister, saying the claim was based on a misunderstanding. The CJP founder, a Boston University student and political communications strategist, returned from the United States before joining street protests in New Delhi and Pune. His organisation has described itself as a youth-led platform demanding accountability over alleged paper leaks, delayed results and irregularities in competitive examinations.
The controversy comes as the CJP attempts to expand from an online movement into a wider street campaign. Dipke launched a nationwide protest drive from Pune on Thursday, with supporters gathering at Savitribai Phule Pune University. The group has said the campaign will move through Jaipur, Lucknow, Amritsar and Bengaluru before returning to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on June 20, where protesters plan to press for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The movement’s rise has been unusually rapid. It began after remarks from the Supreme Court bench during a hearing on employment and public-sector recruitment angered young people online. Supporters adopted the “cockroach” label as a symbol of persistence, turning ridicule into a protest identity. The campaign then grew through memes, parody accounts, short videos and online registration drives, drawing students, jobseekers and young professionals frustrated by examinations, recruitment delays and allegations of institutional opacity.
The CJP’s first major street mobilisation at Jantar Mantar on June 6 attracted hundreds of participants, many carrying placards and copies of the Constitution. The protest focused on alleged failures in examination governance, including paper leaks and delayed recruitment processes. Several opposition groups and public figures expressed support for the students’ demands, while the authorities maintained a heavy police presence around protest sites and Dipke’s residence.
Raut’s allegation has complicated that political terrain. Shiv Sena had earlier backed the students’ right to protest and criticised the government over youth unemployment and examination controversies. By suggesting a possible link between Dipke and Modi, Raut has raised questions about whether the CJP’s sudden rise is entirely organic or whether rival forces are attempting to influence its trajectory. At the same time, the absence of verifiable evidence has exposed the opposition leader to criticism that he amplified an unproven claim.
The BJP has often portrayed youth-led protest platforms as politically motivated, while opposition parties have accused the government of using that argument to dismiss genuine grievances. The CJP episode now sits at the centre of that contest. For the government, any suggestion that Dipke met Modi could be politically awkward if proven, given the CJP’s demand for Pradhan’s resignation. For the opposition, an unsubstantiated claim risks weakening its broader argument on examination accountability.
The group’s immediate agenda remains focused on education reform. Dipke has said the CJP’s manifesto will demand stronger systems to prevent question paper leaks, faster declaration of results, transparent recruitment timelines and clear accountability for examination authorities. The campaign has also linked examination failures with wider anxieties over unemployment, rising costs and the narrowing prospects of young graduates.
