Haryana guest teacher suspended days after joining Cockroach Janta Party protest

GURGAON: A guest teacher at a government school in Haryana's Rohtak district has been placed under suspension days after participating in a protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on June 6. The suspension order, issued by the District Elementary Education Officer, on Wednesday, stated that Sulekha Dalal would remain under suspension with effect from June 8. However, the order did not mention the reason for the action, news agency PTI reported. As per the directive, the office of the Rohtak Block Education Officer has been designated as Dalal's headquarters during the suspension period, and she has been instructed not to leave the station without prior permission, PTI reported. The development comes after a video showing Dalal addressing participants at the CJP protest went viral on social media. "This is a fight. This time it is a fight of 'do or die'. Now, the mother of the cockroach has stepped into the field. We are not part of any group; we are with our children. A mother is the mother of the entire nation," Dalal said in the purported video clip. Reacting to the suspension, Dalal said she had not been informed about the grounds for the action. "I have been working for the past several years. I was not aware that one cannot go there (to be part of the protest). I feel that at least before suspending me, I should have been informed about the reason for it," PTI quoted Dalal as saying. Dalal said her participation in the protest stemmed from concerns over alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations that had affected her family. "My son, who is a graduate, appeared in one of the recruitment exams in which alleged irregularities took place. So, my son, and I as a parent, are also affected," she said. "I went there (to the protest) only as a concerned mother. What I conveyed was a mother's pain. I am not associated with any party or group; nor had I gone to join anyone," she added. Guest teachers in Haryana are contractual educators engaged by the government to address temporary vacancies and shortages of regular teaching staff. The Cockroach Janta Party organised a protest at Jantar Mantar on June 6, drawing students and young people from across the country. Participants demanded accountability for alleged irregularities in competitive examinations and sought the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The group has gained prominence in recent weeks through social media campaigns focused on examination-related concerns and has projected itself as a youth-led platform advocating reforms in the education sector. (With agency inputs)