Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to show their educational degrees as a fresh controversy over Dipke’s alleged graduation from Boston University continues to unfold.
In a post on X on Thursday, Dipke said he was willing to show his degree if Modi did the same.
“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 wrote.
He followed it with a direct challenge to the prime minister, saying, “let’s both show our degrees and put an end to this.”
The remarks came after questions were raised about Dipke’s educational credentials during a podcast hosted by Prakhar Gupta, who was speaking with activist Sonam Wangchuk.
Why is Dipke’s Boston University education being questioned?
A purported clip from the podcast circulating on social media showed Gupta discussing Dipke’s education at Boston University.
Gupta said one of his close friends had studied at the same university and had also participated in protests led by Dipke’s CJP. According to Gupta, the friend later examined Dipke’s educational credentials and claimed that he could not find a record showing that Dipke had graduated from Boston University.
These claims have not been independently established in the material cited in the report.
Dipke has previously rejected questions over his education and said he attended Boston University on a scholarship. In an interview with journalist Barkha Dutt, he said his education was funded by a Boston University scholarship and that he had also taken an education loan.
Dipke also reportedly showed his scholarship letter during the interview.
Dipke shares video amid controversy
Hours before his latest challenge to Modi, Dipke shared a video compilation apparently showing an afterparty posted by an account called “BUComGrad”.
In one portion of the video, Dipke can be seen sitting at a table and speaking with other people.
The video was shared amid the renewed scrutiny of his association with Boston University, although its appearance at an event does not by itself establish whether he graduated from the university.
Earlier questions over funding
Questions about Dipke’s US education had surfaced previously, including over how his studies were funded.
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.
Tiwari told ANI that he had raised the matter with the Maharashtra government and questioned how the education expenses could have been met from his father’s reported salary.
Dipke, however, has maintained that his education was financed through a scholarship and an education loan.
Dipke turns education row towards PM Modi
Dipke’s latest comments also revive a long-running political debate over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.
Opposition leaders have repeatedly raised questions about Modi’s degrees, while the BJP has maintained that the issue has already been settled and has previously displayed his degree publicly.
Dipke subsequently questioned why the Delhi High Court had not ordered disclosure of the prime minister’s degree and said that, based on arguments he had encountered from BJP supporters, anyone who did not show their degree could be labelled a “fraud” or “liar”.
The exchange has now turned the scrutiny of Dipke’s educational background into a broader political argument involving the prime minister’s own academic credentials.
CJP hits back at criticism
The CJP has also defended its founder amid the controversy.
Party spokesperson Vaishnavi Gaur responded on X by questioning why RTI inquiries into a private individual’s education expenses were being pursued and referred to the PM CARES Fund.
The latest developments have placed Dipke’s Boston University education back in the spotlight, with the CJP founder seeking to shift the debate towards transparency around the educational qualifications of political figures.
