Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra) [India], August 2 : Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist Abhijeet Dipke urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to move beyond social media gestures and direct the police to withdraw cases against student protestors.
"Don't just offer forgiveness on Instagram; direct the police to withdraw the cases as well. Withdraw the cases filed against these students," Dipke told ANI.
Demanding a formal apology for the police action against students on July 20, Dipke stated that the PM's "forgiveness" cannot be discussed until the government acknowledges the "brutality" inflicted upon protesters.
"PM Modi should apologise to the students who were subjected to a lathicharge on July 20, those who suffered head injuries, pellet gun wounds, and serious injuries such as broken arms and legs. Apologise to them first; only then can you talk about forgiveness," he said.
He further emphasised that the violence witnessed during the protest was "unprecedented" in the country's history.
"You must apologise before offering forgiveness. The brutality witnessed on July 20 was unprecedented. Such violence against students had never been seen in this country before. Therefore, I believe Narendra Modi should apologise for that first. Only then can he demonstrate how great a person he is and how big his heart is," the CJP founder added.
Dipke alleged that the BJP's IT cell has created an environment of intimidation, particularly against women. He claimed that the fact that some of these accounts are followed by the Prime Minister's official handle emboldens them.
"For years, the BJP's IT cell has, in my view, hurled abusive messages and rape threats at women. If you look at many of their social media profiles, they often say 'followed by PM Modi'. In my opinion, that gives them a sense of support from the top to engage in such behaviour," Dipke alleged.
He further added, "It begins with abusive language. They show no respect for women. They repeatedly direct abusive remarks at women and attempt to intimidate and threaten them. They simply do not want women to progress in any way."