0
Abhijit Dipke (left), who launched the social media account "Cockroach Party (CJP)" after the Chief Justice of India compared unemployed youth to cockroaches and parasites. / Photo via social media capture

The creator of the "Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)," a social media account that captured 22 million Instagram followers within days by satirizing the Indian government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accused authorities of shutting down the group's website and intimidating his family.

Reuters reported on May 26 that CJP founder Abhijit Dipke claimed on his X (formerly Twitter) account the previous day, "The government has shut down our flagship website." He further alleged that their X account has been geoblocked within India, their Instagram account hacked, and his family subjected to ongoing threats.

The Indian government has issued no official statement and declined to comment on the matter.

The catalyst for the satirical movement was a courtroom remark made on May 15 by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. During a case hearing, Chief Justice Kant sparked widespread outrage by comparing certain unemployed youth to cockroaches and parasites on society. While he later clarified that his remarks were directed specifically at individuals who secured employment through fraudulent degrees rather than a criticism of the youth at large, the CJP account emerged on Instagram the following day on May 16, kicking off the satire campaign in earnest.

The response from the younger demographic was explosive. Generating 22 million followers within just days of its launch, the CJP actively satirized the systemic hurdles Indian youth confront daily, including chronic unemployment and widespread exam paper leaks. Featuring a logo of a cockroach silhouette placed over a mobile phone, the account described itself as "the voice of the lazy and the unemployed." Analysts evaluate that deep-seated frustrations accumulated against the Modi administration and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) suddenly burst into the open through the vehicle of online satire.

The underlying anxiety and anger among India's youth are reflected in recent public sentiment data. In a survey conducted by pollster CVoter, over 60% of respondents aged 18 to 24 reported feeling anxious about their future. Furthermore, 60% agreed that the frustrations highlighted by the CJP mirrored public outrage over unemployment, governance failures, and testing malpractice. Most recently, allegations of question paper leaks in a medical school entrance examination reportedly impacted approximately 2.3 million applicants. According to official government data, India’s urban youth unemployment rate hovers at 14%, nearly triple the national unemployment rate of roughly 5%.

Despite the backlash, the response from the government and the ruling party was largely dismissive. Kiren Rijiju, a senior BJP figure and federal minister, posted on X, "The hero of an anti-India gang cannot be India's hero," adding, "It is pathetic that they seek social media followers from abroad." Although he did not explicitly name the CJP, Dipke fired back by releasing analytics from his Instagram account, proving that "over 94% of our followers are based right here in India." He asked in response, "Why is a union minister labeling Indian youth as Pakistanis?"

Regarding the alleged suspension of the X account, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a digital rights organization, criticized the move as an "arbitrary attempt to suppress freedom of expression."

The meteoric rise of the CJP directly contrasts with the political momentum of the Modi administration, which has been cementing its positions entering its 12th year in power following a string of recent state assembly election victories. However, skeptics question whether this digital satire will translate into tangible political leverage. Prashant Bhushan, an activist and lawyer, told Reuters, "For this movement to go further, it needs to organize and mobilize on the ground, beyond the realm of social media."

                                                                                                               Jeong Ri-na