The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Tuesday removed Vijita Dahiya as its spokesperson, saying it “strongly condemns” his “highly insensitive actions” after videos of him surfaced on social media during the party’s protest in Delhi.
In a statement posted on the
“We strongly condemn the extremely insensitive actions of our spokesperson Vijita Dahiya, whose videos went viral as peaceful protesters and our team faced brutal police violence. Such behavior is unacceptable, shows a complete lack of judgement, and is completely inconsistent with the values and principles of our movement,” the CJP said.
Read also: “Main burger kyun khaya?”: CJP spokesperson Vijita Dahiya slams trolls for accusing him of eating during protest
In announcing disciplinary action, the party said that it had decided to remove Al-Dahiya from the position of its official spokesman and relieve him of all official responsibilities.
The controversy erupted after a video, whose authenticity has not been independently verified, allegedly showed the political scientist and filmmaker Dahiya at a popular fast food restaurant in Delhi during Monday’s Parliament rally organized by the CJP.
As the video went viral, many social media users questioned the suburb’s absence from the protest site while protesters were allegedly beaten and detained by police.
In response to the criticism, Al-Dahiya posted a video claiming that he had participated in the march but left after realizing that the march had ended.
Dahiya said: “Why did you eat a burger? This is a big problem today. Why would anyone eat a burger? He is hungry. He wants to eat a burger. That’s all. So I was also very hungry. And when you eat something good, your mind feels good.”
He also said critics ignore the sacrifices made by protest participants.
“What people don’t see is that I didn’t sleep for two nights, and neither did those who participated in the protest,” he said, adding that he returned home to shower after leaving the march before stopping to eat.
