Abhijit Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), demanded the resignation of Maharashtra School Education Minister Dada Bhuse, alleging that government school students lack basic facilities. Speaking after visiting a school under the party’s “Fix Schools” campaign, which began last week, Dipke said many schools lack adequate classrooms, benches, toilets and safe access roads.

Dipke said students were being denied essential services and claimed that ministers’ dogs received better facilities. He urged political leaders to address school problems before seeking votes and called on people to prioritise their children’s education over political, caste and community identities. He also criticised politics centred on religion, saying children’s education and future require greater attention.

He said ministers and legislators should send their own children to government schools to understand their actual condition. Dipke alleged that students still study under leaking tin roofs and without enough benches, while some walk several kilometres to school without safe transport. He also cited alleged snake-bite deaths and waste behind a visited school as signs of unsafe conditions. Dipke claimed some authorities began work after CJP visits and warned of wider village-level protests if conditions do not improve.