Kerala BJP falsely links CJP protesters to hydrogen train attack

Kozhikode: BJP leader B. Gopalakrishnan has come under fire for alleging that protesters of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), who are agitating for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over the alleged NEET paper leak, attacked India's first hydrogen train.

The claim was made during a television debate, where the programme anchor pointed out that the incident had not occurred in Delhi and had no connection with the ongoing CJP-led protest. The alleged attack had taken place earlier at Patliputra railway station in Bihar under entirely different circumstances.

Journalist NPC Ranjith also rejected the claim, alleging that misleading videos were being circulated to portray CJP protesters as anti-national. According to him, the video was widely shared by BJP leaders, including former Rajya Sabha MP and former National Commission for Women chairperson Rekha Sharma, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi and the official X handle of the RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya, linking it to the Delhi protest.

The video, however, was from an incident on June 14, when candidates waiting to appear for a state recruitment examination in Bihar allegedly pelted stones after their train was delayed. Northern Railway later clarified that the hydrogen train had neither been attacked nor disrupted and that the viral clip was unrelated to its services.

The controversy has also spread online, with social media posts claiming that a large share of CJP's followers are from Pakistan and circulating edited videos portraying activist Sonam Wangchuk as anti-national. CJP rejected the claims by publishing metadata on the geographical distribution of its followers. The organisation has also shared videos which it says show police personnel damaging vehicles, pelting stones and using excessive force during the clashes.