Dipke backs Bhagwat: Gen-Z protest not anti-national

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke welcomed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's line that Gen-Z protesters are not anti-national, and urged BJP to drop the label.

Arjun Mehta, Political Correspondent·07 Aug 2026 IST·07 Aug 2026·2 min read

Lead

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday, 7 August 2026, welcomed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's defence of Gen-Z protesters and urged the BJP leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop branding protesting students as "anti-national."

The response follows Bhagwat's remarks a day earlier in Mumbai, where he said young people raising education and other grievances were not anti-national and that protest could be a form of democratic dialogue.

What we can verify

Bhagwat, 6 August (Mumbai): Speaking at an interaction linked to India's International Movement to Unite Nations (IIMUN) anniversary event with a large Gen-Z / Gen Alpha audience, Bhagwat said protest is a way of dialogue in a democracy and that Gen-Z grievances on education were genuine. He said those protesting were "not anti-national" and were "our own people." Mint; Telangana Today; Outlook
On force used at protests: Asked about police action against student protesters on 20 July, Bhagwat said the reasons for lathi charge and pellet-gun use should be studied. Mint
On dialogue vs agitation: Bhagwat said if concerns are not heard through dialogue, people turn to agitation, and the purpose should be building consensus rather than creating divisions. Mint
Dipke, 7 August: Dipke publicly welcomed Bhagwat's line defending Gen-Z's right to protest on genuine issues and urged the BJP and the prime minister to stop calling protesting students "anti-national." Indian Express YouTube; Outlook
Dipke's framing: Outlook reported Dipke posted a "To whom it may concern…"-style message aimed at BJP leaders who had labelled agitating students anti-national or linked the movement to foreign forces, after Bhagwat's comments undercut that line. Outlook
Context of the protests: Coverage places Bhagwat's outreach after CJP-linked student protests over the NEET paper-leak crisis and related education grievances, including the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Mint; Outlook; Indian Express YouTube

What remains unverified

Full verbatim text of Dipke's social-media post beyond the short "To whom it may concern…" framing and the Indian Express video description summary.
Whether Bhagwat's comments amount to an organisational RSS instruction to the BJP, or only personal remarks at the Mumbai event.
Exact headcount at the IIMUN interaction (reports say "around 2,000"; treat as approximate).

Why it matters

Bhagwat heads the RSS, widely treated as the BJP's ideological parent. A public refusal to paint Gen-Z / CJP-linked protesters as anti-national is a sharp contrast with party and police rhetoric during the Jantar Mantar and related student mobilisations. Dipke is using that gap to press the ruling party to drop the label and treat education grievances as legitimate.

Sources

#Abhijeet Dipke#Mohan Bhagwat#Gen-Z#CJP#RSS#anti-national#student protest

Sources cited

CJP policy: every fact in this article is traceable to a public source. We never publish what we cannot verify.

Written by

Arjun Mehta

Political Correspondent

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