Why Punjab CM Mann & Kejriwal are facing flak for ‘manufacturing’ youth support over NEET campaign

Press Room
Wp header logo 261.png

Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab found itself at the centre of a fresh controversy after one of its promotional posts on supporting NEET aspirants triggered a political backlash.

The controversy erupted after the party’s official social media handles shared a video and statement portraying a young woman as a NEET aspirant praising the efforts of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for offering free travel and logistical support to students appearing in the NEET examination.

“This young NEET aspirant’s words reflect what lakhs of Punjabi families feel today. CM Bhagwant Mann and national convener Arvind Kejriwal are standing with students when they need support most. Free Punjab roadways travel for NEET aspirants is a government fulfilling its responsibility towards the youth of Punjab,” read the AAP Punjab post on X.

The attached video showed the woman speaking about how the newly created Cockroach Janta Party had crossed several million followers.

She said it was unfair to compare the unemployed youth to cockroaches and rodents and went on to criticise the running of the central government, especially the NEET leak.

She also appreciated the efforts of Mann and Kejriwal to help out students who will appear for the exam again next month by making their travel to their centres in Punjab roadways buses free of cost.

The post attached a video message of Arvind Kejriwal making the announcement.

The post attempted to showcase the AAP’s outreach among students and parents amid the ongoing uproar over the cancellation of the NEET examination.

However, opposition leaders and social media users quickly pointed out that the woman featured in the video was not a NEET aspirant but an influencer and model with a significant social media presence.

As criticism intensified online, the party deleted the post. The issue rapidly snowballed into a political embarrassment with the Congress, the BJP and the Akali Dal accusing the AAP of manufacturing grassroots support using influencers while presenting them as ordinary students.

Screenshots of the deleted post circulated widely across X and Instagram, with critics alleging that the party was attempting to build a false narrative around student support.

The row

The woman at the centre of the controversy, Pratyaksha Arora, is a model and influencer who has reportedly participated in pageants and online promotional campaigns and has been described on social media as a former “Miss Dellywood” contestant or title-holder.

Her social media presence shows earlier expressions of admiration for Kejriwal and the AAP’s governance model, especially on issues like education and public services.

Political opponents, therefore, argued that the video was not a spontaneous endorsement from a distressed student but a carefully amplified political message.

What added another layer to the controversy was the influencer’s parallel engagement with the now-viral ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ discourse that has exploded online over the past week.

Since she referred to the party while promoting the AAP, it led many online commentators to speculate about an ideological overlap between sections of digitally active anti-establishment youth, former AAP volunteers and the rapidly growing satirical online movement launched by the Cockroach Janta Party.

The Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, emerged after the Chief Justice of India (CJI) referred to sections of youth as “cockroaches” and “parasites” during a hearing. CJI Surya Kant later said that the media had misquoted him. His remarks, he clarified, were aimed at people “using fake and bogus” degrees.

The movement turned that insult into a badge of protest. Within days, it gained millions of followers on Instagram and became one of the most discussed political-social trends online.

Reports said the movement’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, had previously worked with the AAP in a communications-related role before moving abroad for studies.

Dipke acknowledged in interviews that he had once been inspired by the AAP’s emphasis on education and healthcare reforms, though he insisted the Cockroach Janta Party was not linked to any political organisation and had come up organically, almost accidentally.

Still, social media discussions increasingly drew parallels between the anti-establishment mood that gave birth to the AAP during the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement and the current youth-driven online anger around examinations, unemployment and governance failures.

Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira warned people in Punjab to beware of this new party, saying it could be just another ploy to fool them.

However, supporters of the online movement rejected such claims, insisting that the anger was genuine and driven by frustration over unemployment, competitive exam failures and a growing disconnect between political leadership and young Indians.

The AAP has attempted to aggressively position itself alongside protesting students. Kejriwal recently addressed a press conference attacking the BJP government over the alleged NEET failures and accused the Centre of destroying the future of students through incompetence and corruption.

He called upon the “Gen-Z” students to launch a massive protest against the BJP government.

Kejriwal also issued an offer on social media that any student who was depressed or wanted to share some suggestions about the conduct of the exam can do so by messaging him directly.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)

source

Related Articles
Exit mobile version