All's fine in our school: Greater Noida locals chase away Saurav Das, CJP members

The Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) 'School Thik Karo' (fix the schools) campaign ended up in another confrontation on Tuesday. Locals in Uttar Pradesh's Greater Noida stopped the entry of CJP co-convenor Saurav Das and his team to a government school and questioned their intention. Das later alleged that some schools were locked to prevent the entry of CJP members.

Later, Saurav Das posted a picture of a vehicle without a registration plate, alleging that the Uttar Pradesh government was "following them".

Tuesday's confrontation came days after the CJP's earlier school audit in Gautam Buddha Nagar triggered a dispute with the district education authorities over access to government schools. Das has now alleged that schools were locked ahead of the team's arrival and questioned why the Uttar Pradesh government was "restricting" their visits.

"In Greater Noida today. This is the second temple of knowledge that was locked in anticipation of our visit. Schools are also called temples of education. But today, the UP government has locked all the temples in Greater Noida. Why is the UP government so afraid?" Das said in a post on X.

Videos of the incident showed locals confronting the CJP team during its school visit. The circumstances leading to the confrontation and the identities or affiliations of the people remain contested.

In one of the videos, locals can be heard opposing the CJP's visit to government schools in their locality. "We live here, and everything in our schools is fine. You can go back. Those complaining might have a vested interest or might have taken money," a person is heard telling Saurav Das.

The latest episode adds another layer to the CJP's increasingly visible campaign to inspect government schools across states and document their condition.

Earlier in August, CJP's co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and members of the outfit were attacked in Jaipur district while they tried to visit a government school in Rampura Kanwarpura village.WHY IS THE UP GOVERNMENT SO AFRAID? CJP QUESTIONS

Das said the team had travelled to Greater Noida to inspect government schools as part of the 'School Thik Karo' campaign, which was launched nationally on August 15.

In another post, Das said the team was on its way to a government primary school in Devla village when they found the school locked.

"Even though the school was locked before we arrived, we met a few students who row their boat everyday (sic) in this Venice city," Das posted, referring to the waterlogged conditions the CJP claims students encounter in the area. He also pointed to the political context of the region, saying BJP MP Mahesh Sharma had "adopted a nearby village" and "asking followers to listen" to students and local residents.

The CJP has also alleged that its team was being followed.

"Why is the UP government sending god-knows-who in these numberplate-less cars to tail us?" Das posted, along with a photograph of a black car.

The claims come against the backdrop of an earlier dispute between the CJP and Gautam Buddh Nagar's education authorities.CJP'S TEAM WAS EARLIER STOPPED FROM ENTERING SCHOOL IN NOIDA

On September 15, the CJP team visited a government primary school in Garhi Chaukhandi as part of its Noida audit. The group documented the condition of the school, including its toilets, and Das later alleged that his team was denied entry to four other schools it had planned to inspect.

Das subsequently claimed that government schools in Gautam Buddha Nagar had been ordered to close after the CJP's inspection.

The district education department rejected that claim.

Gautam Buddha Nagar District Basic Education Officer Rahul Panwar said all government primary and upper-primary schools were functioning according to the prescribed timetable and that no order had been issued to close them. The department described the closure claim as false and misleading.CJP'S NATIONWIDE SCHOOL CAMPAIGN AND CONTROVERSIES

The Greater Noida confrontation comes just a day after the CJP took its campaign to Odisha, extending an outreach that has increasingly moved from street protests to school audits.

In Odisha, Saurav Das inspected government schools and backed students protesting alleged errors in state government textbooks. The CJP sought the resignation of Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond, arguing that accountability should be fixed for errors in textbooks.

The campaign began after the CJP ended its prolonged Jantar Mantar agitation following the resignation of BJP MP Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union Education Minister. Since August 15, the organisation has attempted to turn school infrastructure and education quality into its next major pressure point.

In Punjab, a CJP team conducted a school social audit and highlighted positive aspects and small problems before approaching the state education minister. In Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, its interventions have more prominently involved protests, demands and political pressure.FROM JANTAR MANTAR TO GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS

The school campaign marks a new phase for the CJP, which began as a satirical social media outfit before transforming into a pressure group during its Jantar Mantar protests in New Delhi.

Its earlier campaign centred on education-system grievances and the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. After the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, the CJP shifted its attention towards government schools, taking up student protests and education-related grievances in different states.

The organisation has since appeared in BJP-ruled states as well as states governed by opposition parties. That expansion has also brought questions about whether its interventions differ depending on the political party in power.

The CJP's supporters describe the school audits as citizen-led scrutiny of public education. Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the methods used by the organisation, particularly when its teams attempt to enter functioning government schools and record conditions on the premises.

In Greater Noida, that question has now moved from an argument over school access to a confrontation on the ground. For the CJP, the locked-school allegations and the confrontation with locals have become another episode in their larger 'School Thik Karo' campaign.- EndsPublished By: Avinash KateelPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 19:04 IST