CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Thursday claimed that BJP functionaries approached him with an offer to join the party during the Jantar Mantar student agitation, and threatened him and his family when he refused.“Join us, or we will deal with you,” Dipke claimed he was told during the protest. He further alleged that threats were extended to his parents when he declined the offer.“No matter how many offers they make, I will not join BJP,” he said.Escalating his attack on Centre, Dipke said Union home minister Amit Shah should resign if allegations that CJP is being funded or operated from abroad are true. “If CJP is indeed being funded or operated from abroad while Amit Shah is in charge, then he has failed as home minister and should resign,” he said.Referring to the alleged threats, Dipke questioned why senior politicians were targeting him.“I am of the age of the Prime Minister and Amit Shah’s grandchildren. How many threats will they issue to a 30-year-old?” he said.Senior BJP functionary and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule, however, dismissed Dipke’s claim. The neta instead appealed to Dipke to identify the member and promised to take instant action against him. “We have nearly 13 crore members across the country, and he (Dipke) should just identify the person who has threatened him. We will take instant action against the person. If he is unable to identify or name the person, he should then stop maligning our party image,” Bawankule said during an interaction with the media in Thane on Thursday.Dipke also alleged that the police action against student protesters at Jantar Mantar on July 20, in which several demonstrators were injured, could not have taken place without Shah’s approval.Targeting newly appointed Union education minister Pralhad Joshi, Dipke questioned his “values and integrity” and criticised remarks attributed to him regarding the Bilkis Bano case. He also accused BJP of protecting “goons and rapists”, while referring to cases involving Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar.Reacting to Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s reported criticism of Generation Z, Dipke defended young people and said they were fighting for legitimate rights.“These are future voters and future leaders of the country. There is no point trolling Gen Z for their political views. Baba Ramdev should focus on selling his products,” he said.Dipke also said that police personnel should not fear being filmed if they were acting within the law. “The police belong to the nation, not to any political party. They should function according to the Constitution. If they want to follow BJP’s directions instead, they should remove the khaki uniform and stand guard outside the BJP office,” he alleged.