On August 11, 2026, Umar Khalid marked his sixth consecutive birthday behind bars. Khalid, who was arrested under the pretext of the Delhi riots conspiracy case in 2020, is still awaiting the commencement of a trial. On this occasion, an audit of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokespersons’ – Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Ratna Singh and Saurav Das – public social media accounts (X and Instagram) reveals that none of them posted anything that could be remotely considered as showing solidarity with Khalid and other political prisoners incarcerated under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

When asked about Khalid’s name being raised at the recent student protests, Das argued that the movement concerned paper leaks and the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and that bringing in other questions unrelated to education “risked fracturing the unity” as some people who disagree on these questions (likely referring to people who support Khalid’s incarceration) were mobilised around the student movement.

In a world where issues are interconnected and intersectional, many disagreed with the CJP’s compartmentalisation of issues. To term a Muslim Ph.D. scholar and, above all, a student leader unjustly incarcerated by the state for six years without trial, as unrelated to an agitation about education is not only insensitive, but also exposes the lack of an ideological core in CJP’s politics. By asking for the removal of a jailed scholar from mainstream discourse, the movement ends up furthering the process of invisibilisation of dissenting voices – which is exactly what the state wants.  

To be fair, this is not a case of absolute silence. Dipke, when asked directly, has affirmed Khalid’s right to a fair trial. However, the operative word here is ‘asked’. Das, too, has written extensively in defence of Khalid before becoming a part of the CJP leadership. Given this posturing, it is pertinent to point out two contradictions.

First, now that Pradhan has resigned and there is no imminent fear of mobilisation fading, why did not any of the CJP spokespersons publicly rally behind Khalid?

Second, why did not any of the spokespersons condemn........

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