CJP visit turns violent
Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has announced that construction of a new building for a government primary school in Jaipur, which was at the centre of a recent confrontation between Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) members and villagers, will begin from September 1.
The government said Rs 18 lakh has been sanctioned for the new building of Government Primary School, Rampura (Kanwarpura), in Sanganer block. Of this, Rs 12 lakh was sanctioned from the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) on August 13 and another Rs 6 lakh from the MLA fund.
The announcement came late Saturday night after a CJP team visiting the village on Friday as part of its “School Thik Karo” campaign was attacked following a confrontation with villagers.
FIRs have been registered by both sides over the incident.
Reacting to the announcement, CJP co-founder and spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka said the party’s immediate demand over the Rampura school had been addressed, but its campaign on the condition of government schools would continue.
“We had not gone there to seek votes. We had gone to talk about getting the school fixed. Now that the government has approved the start of work from September 1, that issue, including our 48-hour warning, is over,” Ranka said.
He, however, questioned why the work could not have been initiated earlier and said there was no justification for the violence during the CJP team’s visit.
“If the government is genuinely concerned about the future of children, get the schools repaired. We are not here to fight, but we will neither retreat nor be intimidated,” he said.
Ranka claimed the decision on the Rampura school showed the impact of the CJP campaign and asked party workers to continue visiting government schools and hold peaceful demonstrations wherever necessary.
He also sought a concrete timeline from the government for repairing schools across Rajasthan, claiming around 3,000 school buildings were in a dilapidated condition and 611 schools were operating without buildings.
Referring to the government’s roadmap for school infrastructure, Ranka said it had announced a Rs 12,000-crore plan on March 31 and claimed the timeline had now been reduced from five years to three years.
He asked the government to disclose how many schools had been repaired in the past six months and identify those proposed to be taken up over the next year.
Ranka said CJP members would next visit schools in western Rajasthan, including Jodhpur, and continue their inspection campaign.
According to the state government, the Rampura school building was declared dilapidated following a technical survey in September 2025 and was subsequently taken out of use.
An initial proposal to shift the students to a government senior secondary school in nearby Beelwa was opposed by villagers citing the young age of the children and commuting difficulties, it said.
Subsequently, classes were being held in a cattle enclosure.
The school currently has 18 students and two teachers.
The confrontation on Friday occurred when the CJP team went to Rampura Kanwarpura to inspect the school. The CJP alleged that BJP workers attacked its members, while villagers accused the visiting group of intimidating residents and creating a ruckus.
Police subsequently registered cross FIRs on complaints from a villager and a CJP member on Friday night.
This post was last modified on August 23, 2026 1:36 pm