‘Retire in an ashram’: Cockroach Janata Party chief takes jibe at Anna Hazare

2 min readPuneJul 7, 2026 12:24 PM IST

Cockroach Janta Party founder-president Abhijeet Dipke (right), who is in Maharashtra, was asked if he planned to meet social activist Anna Hazare, who has extended support to the party's movement.

Cockroach Janta Party founder-president Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday took a jibe at social activist Anna Hazare, saying that “those whose time has passed” should retire from socio-political life and rest in an ashram.

“Those whose time has passed should not make any decisions regarding the future of students and youth. They should now retire from socio-political life and go stay in an ashram,” Dipke said, speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

Dipke’s remark came when he was asked if he planned to meet Hazare, who has extended support to the Cockroach Janta Party movement. Dipke said he would not meet Hazare or anyone else.

Emphasising that the youth will decide their future course of action, Dipke said, “People who are over 50 to 60 years of age should now voluntarily retire from all social and political movements. This question is directly related to the future of the youth and students of the country. Therefore, let us—the youth—decide what we want to do and how to shape our future. Those elderly people who have already achieved everything should retire and rest in an ashram. They should not needlessly make decisions regarding the future of the youth.”

Surprising statement: Anna Hazare associate

Hazare’s associates at his Ralegan Siddhi office expressed surprise at Dipke’s remarks. “Anna had expressed support to Dipke when he had launched his party. Anna firmly believes that the youth should come forward and raise their voice. Dipke’s statement is surprising,” an associate said.

“Dipke is not so big to respond to what he says. Anna will not respond. Activists in Ralegan Siddhi will respond,” the associate added.

Hazare was in the news last week after the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra backed down from its plan to amend the Right to Information (RTI) rules. Hazare had threatened to launch a hunger strike from Sunday, prompting the government to stay the proposal.