'Let's both show our degrees': Abhijeet Dipke's open invite to PM Modi as row over his Boston education reignited

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday offered to show his education degree from the United States, provided Prime Minister Narendra Modi also does the same.

In a post on X, Dipke invited PM Modi calling for “both to show our degrees” after a fresh controversy over his educational credentials at Boston University.

“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," the CJP leader said in a post on X.

He then went on to invite PM Modi to show his educational qualifications, saying, "let’s both show our degrees and put an end to this.”

Hours before the post, Dipke had also shared a video compilation apparently showing an afterparty posted by an account called “BUComGrad”. In one part of the clip, Dipke can be seen sitting at a table and speaking to people.

The comments came after a recent podcast by Prakhar Gupta, wherein he was hosting activist Sonam Wangchuk, and questioned Dipke's education at the US university.

The CJP convener’s latest remark is the second time he has turned the argument over his degree into a challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP leaders, meanwhile, have previously displayed Modi’s degree in public and maintained that the issue has already been settled legally.

He doubled down on his attack against the Prime Minister, saying, “Why did the Delhi high court refuse to disclose the PM’s degree? From what I’ve learned from the IT Cell over the last few days, anyone who doesn’t show their degree is apparently a fraud and a liar.”

What are the claims?

A purported clip from the podcast is doing rounds on social media, in the clip, Gupta said one of his close friends had studied at Boston University and was also present during the protests. He did not disclose his friend's name, just said that he is in media and also does podcasts.

“One of my best friends went to Boston University. Boston University is also Abhijeet’s college,” Gupta said.

He went on to describe his friend’s participation in the CJP-led protests and said that his friend was a staunch supporter of the agitation's cause. However, Gupta added that the friend had later begun examining Dipke’s educational credentials.

“One month later, he has gone down the rabbit hole of checking Abhijeet’s educational credentials and found that there is no record of him graduating from Boston University," the podcaster claimed.

Earlier questions over Dipke's education

Questions about how Dipke funded his education in the US had surfaced earlier as well.

A 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 Dipke was able to afford education in the US while his father was working as a junior engineer with the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation.

“I have complained to the Maharashtra Government that Bhagwanrao Dipke was a Junior Engineer at MIDC. So, if he received a salary of ₹60,000-65,000, how was he able to afford the education of his children in the US?” he told news agency ANI.

The RTI also sought scrutiny of funds linked to the CJP, particularly in connection with Dipke’s education.

Dipke rejected the allegations in an interview with senior journalist Barkha Dutt, saying his education at Boston University was funded through a scholarship.

“My education was funded by a scholarship provided by Boston University. And I had taken some education loan which I have to pay back now,” Dipke told Dutt.

He also showed his scholarship letter from the US-based university during the interview.

The CJP has separately hit back at questions over Dipke’s education. Party spokesperson Vaishnavi Gaur, saying, “Those who file RTIs into a private individual's education expenses should also take a look at the PM CARES Fund too. Modi ji will forgive you too—don't worry. (Ek private individual ke education expenses pe RTI lagane wale kabhi PM cares fund ki taraf bhi dekhe. Modi ji aapko maaf kar denge, don't worry),” she wrote on X.