‘World doesn’t revolve around your party’: CJP’s Saurav Das hits back at Congress over protest row

A public spat between the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Congress has brought differences over the role of political parties in public protests into the open, with CJP co-convenor Saurav Das telling Assam Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh that the world did not revolve around his party.

“World doesn’t revolve around ur party. Get over it (sic),” Das replied to Singh, after the Congress spokesperson accused CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka of refusing to engage with Congress leaders despite the party's alleged help when CJP members were detained by Assam Police in Guwahati.

The exchange followed a post by Ashutosh Ranka defending Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led “political movement” that emerged after controversial remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant triggered an online backlash. Ranka accused a “self-declared liberal” ecosystem of targeting Dipke, who has become the face of the movement.

“An entire ‘self-declared liberal’ ecosystem has been activated to denounce @abhijeet_dipke and the fact that he has been able to capture the imagination of millions of Indians after a LONG LONG time,” Ranka wrote on X.

“The hilarious part is that this ecosystem exists only on Twitter, but somehow thinks they are the sole protectors of democracy,” he added.

Singh responded by accusing Ranka of shutting Congress out of the movement and allowing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to influence CJP's political engagement. Das's reply turned the disagreement into a direct confrontation between the Congress and CJP.

In his October 3 post, Singh said Congress workers had helped secure the release of CJP members detained by Assam Police but that Ranka subsequently refused to meet Congress leaders, including Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi.

“When you were detained by Assam Police. We, Congress people helped to get CJP people out,” Singh wrote.

He alleged that Ranka had declined a meeting because AAP had asked him not to engage with Congress. Singh also referred to Kunki Chowdhury, whom he identified as Ranka's host in Guwahati, claiming she had encouraged him to meet Congress leaders.

Singh accused Ranka of keeping Congress and its student wing away from the protests while presenting the campaign as an AAP initiative. He also alleged that CJP had sidelined activist Neha Bora during an earlier round of protests.

His criticism extended to AAP's record, with Singh accusing the party of appropriating public movements for political gain. He cited the India Against Corruption campaign and protests in support of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk as examples.

But Singh also made a point of distinguishing the movement from the political parties seeking to associate themselves with it.

“CJP is a people's movement. It is not an Aam Aadmi Party intellectual property,” he wrote.

“CJP is a decentralised movement. There is no one Supreme Leader or his hierarchy. We all are equals. That is why people support it,” he added.

Singh accused Ranka of trying to turn the campaign into a platform for the political revival of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. His post, however, did not establish that AAP had instructed Ranka to avoid Congress.

Das dismissed Singh's criticism with a terse response: “World doesn’t revolve around ur party. Get over it.”

The exchange brought into the open a disagreement over Congress's role in the movement and whether its participation entitled it to greater engagement from CJP's leadership.

While Singh alleged that Congress had helped CJP members during their detention but was subsequently kept at a distance, CJP's response rejected what it appeared to view as an attempt by Congress to assert its importance in the campaign.

Ranka's original post had focused on criticism directed at Dipke and what he described as an online liberal ecosystem claiming exclusive authority over democratic values. Singh's response shifted the argument to CJP's relationship with Congress and AAP, while Das's reply made the confrontation more direct.

The dispute also brought renewed attention to CJP's recent visit to Guwahati for a meeting of its volunteers.

On September 27, Assam Police detained Ranka and several CJP functionaries and volunteers ahead of the planned gathering. The group alleged that access to the venue had been blocked. Those detained were released later that night.

Singh's post referred to the detention and claimed Congress workers had helped CJP members secure their release. He also alleged that Chowdhury, whom he described as Ranka's host in Guwahati, had encouraged discussions with Congress leaders.

Singh further referred to Chowdhury's alleged participation in campaigning alongside Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi for a Congress candidate in Nagaon.

These claims formed the basis of Singh's charge that CJP had accepted help from Congress but subsequently refused to engage with its leaders.

The row comes as CJP prepares for its October 10 protest in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The public exchange with Singh has brought the differences between CJP and Congress into the open. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have joined the wider mobilisation, while CJP has emerged as a key organiser of the protests. Singh’s allegations of CJP’s links with AAP and Das’s sharp rebuttal have now added a political dimension to the campaign, with both sides publicly disputing their engagement with the movement.