Death of tribal children in Balaghat: CJP's Dipke mocks Madhya Pradesh govt with resignation letter

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke speaks to the media as he arrives to visit affected tribal families in a village in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh on September 12, 2026. Photo credit: PTI

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday (September 13, 2026) resorted to satire to attack the Mohan Yadav government over the deaths of tribal children in Balaghat district, posting a letter on X about his “resignation” as “Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh”.

In a letter addressed to MP Governor Mangubhai Patel and dated August 13, Mr Dipke said he was resigning as “my conscience does not allow me to continue to hold this seat after the death of more than 30 tribal children in Balaghat”.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him an “opportunity to serve the people of MP”, an opportunity he said he “obviously failed to take”.

I hereby resign from the post of MP chairman with immediate effect.

Thank you Hon’ble PM @narendramodi her for giving me an opportunity to serve the people of MP, an opportunity in which I clearly failed.@GovernorMP pic.twitter.com/BVhfJDIf5n

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 13, 2026

The satirical letter focused on the government’s handling of the Balaghat deaths, particularly the compensation announced to the victims’ families.

Mr. Dipke also questioned whether the compensation of “24 lakhs” was adequate if the children of ministers or MLAs were involved.

According to Balaghat Additional Collector DP Burman, the relatives of the 24 deceased children have been given ₹4 lakh each while the process of providing relief to others is underway.

In the letter, Mr Dipke said the deaths of innocent children “demand accountability at the highest level”.

This post will then widen its scope and focus on the government’s demands for tap water supply, education and tribal welfare.

Mr. Dipke pointed out that some tribal families in Balaghat are still dependent on river water and alleged schools in several villages are in a worse condition than animal shelters.

He also cited government data on tribal households without electricity, crimes against scheduled tribes and malnutrition among children to highlight what he called the failure of successive BJP governments in the state.

Concluding his fake resignation letter, Mr Dipke said he had “let down the tribes of not only Balaghat but the entire state” and after the loss of so many innocent children, he did not believe he had “the moral right to continue in this position”.

The post came a day after Mr. Dipke’s visit to disease-affected villages in Balaghat, where his interaction with families was marred by a confrontation with a group of social media influencers.

Earlier this week, the Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court sought the state government’s response to the deaths of more than 30 children allegedly caused by infectious diseases in Balaghat district.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal issued notices to the Health Department, Women and Child Development Department, Collector Balaghat and others while hearing the public interest litigation.

Alleging inadequate treatment of the children, the PIL alleged that around 400 children are being treated in the 50-bed hospital.

It also claimed that yellow-colored water was coming from hand pumps in the affected areas and that children and women were not getting nutritious food on time for several months.

Published – 13 Sep 2026 19:56 IST