MPSC paper leak protests widen as CJP's Abhijeet Dipke backs aspirants' resignation demand
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on Sunday (September 13, 2026) that its members and its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, will join students protesting against alleged paper leaks in online examinations conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC).
The announcement followed a meeting between a group of MPSC aspirants and Mr. Dipke at his residence in the Waluj area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. In a release issued afterwards, the CJP said it would carry forward the agitation demanding the resignation of the MPSC chairman and secretary.
The party said it would undertake a statewide tour to meet MPSC aspirants if the demand was not met by September 24.
In a video message recorded after the meeting, Mr. Dipke said: “The CJP and I are with MPSC aspirants in this fight. We will stand with the aspirants till the resignations [of top MPSC officials].”
Aspirants have staged protests in several parts of Maharashtra in recent weeks, demanding transparency in the recruitment process and action over alleged paper leaks and irregularities in various examinations.
The MPSC is the State Public Service Commission, a body constituted under Article 315 of the Constitution. It conducts examinations and interviews for recruitment to a wide range of State government posts. For lakhs of candidates, its examinations are the outcome of years of preparation, which is why questions about the integrity of the process attract widespread public attention.
Allegations of paper leaks are serious and must be established through due process. Equally, the principle of natural justice requires that no official be judged without a fair inquiry. Both considerations sit at the heart of the current standoff between the protesters and the commission.
The protests have so far been peaceful. Peaceful assembly and the expression of grievances are protected under Article 19 of the Constitution, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right to protest as a facet of the right to freedom of speech and expression, provided it remains non-violent and does not disrupt public order.
No response from the MPSC or the State government to the allegations or to the demand for resignations was available at the time of this report.
The CJP’s decision to join the agitation marks a widening of the protest beyond student groups. The party has said it will continue to press its demand until September 24, after which it plans to expand its outreach across Maharashtra.
Aspirants say their central demand is transparency: details of the inquiries conducted so far, the status of the examinations in question, and a clear timeline for re-examination where results have been held up. Officials are yet to publicly address these specific points.
The coming weeks will indicate whether the agitation remains confined to street protests or leads to a formal dialogue between the protesters, the commission and the State government. For now, both sides are holding their positions, with the September 24 deadline set by the CJP as the next key marker.
