A little over a week ago, a courtroom comment by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, comparing some youth to cockroaches, became the catalyst for criticism and political satire, with one example standing out — and how. The CJI later issued a clarification, but by then, the newly-minted Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had already amassed a significant following, with over 2 crore followers on Instagram alone as of Sunday (May 24).
As swift as its rise, the Central government moved quickly to block the website (cockroachjantaparty.org), even as several copycats have sprung up. The CJP’s X account was also blocked. Abhijeet Dipke, 30, the man behind the “party”, has stated that he and his family have received death threats, but has continued sharing online posts and videos in the face of restrictions.
What has happened since the CJP first surfaced? Why have its accounts been blocked, and how have political players — both in government and Opposition — read its rise? Here is what to know.
What is the Cockroach Janta Party?
Abhijeet Dipke, a communications professional who is currently pursuing a degree in public relations in Boston, Massachusetts, created the website following the CJI’s comments in the Supreme Court. The case involved a lawyer seeking directions to the Delhi High Court over the designation of Senior Advocate (done on the basis of age, academic qualifications, etc.), which the lawyer sought for himself.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was also on the bench along with the CJI, said to the petitioner, “You have no other litigation? This is the standing of a person who expects to be conferred a senior gown?”
In this context, the CJI said, “There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, they don’t get any employment, they don’t have any place in profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, some of them become RTI activists, some of them become other activists, and they start attacking everyone… And you people file contempt petitions,” he had said.
The petitioner apologised and sought to withdraw the plea, which the court agreed to. However, the CJI’s remarks launched a wave of criticism of the court, objecting to the language and what was seen as dehumanising and dismissing an entire generation.
The CJI later said that he was “misquoted” in his oral observations for a “frivolous” case. “What I had specifically criticised were those who have entered professions like the Bar (legal profession) with the aid of fake and bogus degrees. Similar persons have sneaked into the media, social media, and other noble professions as well, and hence, they are like parasites. It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation. Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me…”
By then, however, online discussions had grown to include larger criticisms of the government, particularly the recent cancellation of the NEET examination for medical courses after paper leaks and other flaws in the process. Lack of opportunities and employment prospects was raised as a counter to the accusation of laziness and unemployment.
On its website, with AI-generated illustrations of cockroaches, the CJP called itself “The voice of the lazy and unemployed”, stating that prospective members must be “chronically online”. It described its mission as to “Build a party for the young people who keep getting called lazy, chronically online, and — most recently — cockroaches. That’s it. That’s the mission. The rest is satire.”
Having gained sudden online traction, Dipke told The Indian Express before the accounts were taken down, “The plan is to change the political discourse and make politicians more accountable. Because as we can see, politics or governance today is no longer accountable to the people, especially the youth,” He also said he acknowledged his past association with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), from 2020 to 2022.
The CJP website further listed five demands: “No post-retirement rewards for judges”, “Protect every legit vote”, “50% reservation for women”, “Independent media, not godi media” and “20-year ban on political defection”.
CJP manifesto.
Before the website was blocked on Thursday, Dipke posted a video for people to sign an online petition for the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET issue. The petition is no longer accessible.
Why have the Cockroach Janta Party’s accounts been blocked?
The X handle was withheld following a direction from the Centre, after inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that raised “national security concerns,” a senior government official told The Indian Express.
“The IB believed that the account was posting inflammatory content through its account, which could have jeopardised the country’s national security,” the official said on condition of anonymity since such blocking orders are issued under a confidential framework. “In particular, the concern stemmed from the fact that the account’s content was gaining traction among young people.”
The blocking process is governed by the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act empowers the Central government to restrict public access to information in the interest of sovereignty, security, public order or preventing incitement to offences.
Generally, a government agency or state government sends a request to the Ministry of Electronics and IT, which is examined by a committee before directions are issued to intermediaries such as social media platforms to block the specified content. In emergencies, interim blocking can be ordered before review. But in both cases, it is the IT Ministry that sends the final blocking order to social media companies.
The official added that the Instagram account would also likely be blocked soon.
How have political parties and commentators reacted to it?
While India has seen its fair share of youth-led political movements in the past, the rapid rise of the CJP doesn’t fit that model. It is not a formally registered party, and it was created online with a clear satirical tilt, rather than a political plan. While its popularity may capture some genuine grievances that are unable to come through mainstream channels, whether that can sustain without origins in ground mobilisation and a wider cross-section of supporters remains to be seen.
Senior BJP leaders have publicly claimed that the CJP is a planned attempt to “destabilise” the government and alleged foreign sources of funding for it. Kerala BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote in a post that it was “yet another classic cross border influence operation targeting India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi government” and that it is “designed by vested interests to destabilise India — helped along by elements in our opposition.”
He said in an interview with The Indian Express that “I am not trying to say every dissent is an influence operation. I am not saying we must suspect every person who has a contradictory view.” Some within the party, and among the BJP’s regional allies, have also noted the speed of the CJP’s rise, even if it is only online for now, as a sign of youth concerns not being adequately addressed.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor criticised the restrictions on CJP accounts, saying, “Democracies need outlets for dissent, humour, satire and even frustration.” He added that the moment presented a challenge for Opposition parties to “channelise this discontent into mainstream politics.”
Dipke has said he is still contemplating where the CJP should be headed, and that he did not anticipate it garnering the attention that it did. He also discouraged any comparisons to recent youth-led movements in Nepal and Bangladesh, saying that Indian youth “will express their dissent through peaceful and democratic means.”
An archived version of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) website, which is now blocked. 
CJP manifesto.
Share
