New Delhi, 03 September—Throwing a proverbial gauntlet down at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke today said he would make his educational qualification public if the highest executive of the country did the same, reigniting a controversy over Dipke’s educational credentials at Boston University.
In a hard hitting post on X on Thursday, Dipke said he was willing to show his degree from the US university if Prime Minister Modi also agreed to disclose his educational qualifications.
“People are really running out of patience waiting to see my degree. Makes me wonder how they’ve managed for 12 years without seeing the Prime Minister’s,” Dipke mockingly said directly challenging Modi, “Let’s both show our degrees and put an end to this.”
Dipke has literally been forces to challenge the Prime Minister the CJP founder is facing renewed questions on social media over his claim that he studied at Boston University.
The issue resurfaced after a recent podcast hosted by Prakhar Gupta, who was in conversation with activist Sonam Wangchuk.
A purported clip from the podcast circulating on social media shows Gupta discussing a close friend who, according to him, studied at Boston University and had participated in protests associated with Dipke’s CJP.
“Boston University is also Abhijeet’s college,” Gupta said, according to the circulating clip.
Gupta claimed that his friend later examined Dipke’s educational credentials and allegedly found no record of him graduating from the university.
“One month later, he has gone down the rabbit hole of checking Abhijeet’s educational credentials and found that there is no record of him graduating from Boston University,” Gupta claimed.
These are claims made in the podcast and have not been independently probed.
Dipke has previously maintained that he studied at Boston University and that his education was funded through a scholarship.
Questions about Dipke’s education and how it was financed had surfaced earlier as well.
Surat-based RTI activist Amit Tiwari had sought an inquiry into the finances of Dipke’s father, Bhagwanrao Dipke, a retired Maharashtra government employee. Tiwari questioned how the family could afford education in the US while Dipke’s father was employed as a junior engineer with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).
“I have complained to the Maharashtra Government that Bhagwanrao Dipke was a Junior Engineer at MIDC. So, if he received a salary of ₹60,000-65,000, how was he able to afford the education of his children in the US?” Tiwari told media.
Dipke rejected the allegations during an interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, saying that his education was financed through a Boston University scholarship and an education loan.
“My education was funded by a scholarship provided by Boston University. And I had taken some education loan which I have to pay back now,” Dipke said.
During the interview, he also showed what he described as his scholarship letter from the university.
The CJP founder has previously used the issue of educational degrees to target the Prime Minister.
In another post on X, Dipke questioned why the Delhi High Court had refused to disclose Modi’s degree, adding a sarcastic reference to the BJP’s alleged scrutiny of educational credentials.
“Why did the Delhi high court refuse to disclose the PM’s degree?” Dipke wrote. “From what I’ve learned from the IT Cell over the last few days, anyone who doesn’t show their degree is apparently a fraud and a liar.”
Questions about Modi’s educational qualifications have also been raised by opposition leaders over the years. The BJP has maintained that the issue has already been settled and has previously displayed Modi’s degree publicly.
Meanwhile, the CJP has defended Dipke against questions about his education. Party spokesperson Vaishnavi Gaur also criticised the RTI inquiry, saying those questioning a private individual’s education expenses should also examine the PM CARES Fund.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
