India's Chief Justice Clarifies 'Cockroach' Remarks
The parody movement drew more than 200,000 followers on X and millions on Instagram before officials said the account was withheld over national security concerns.
- Public relations graduate Abhijeet Dipke founded the Cockroach Janta Party , a parody movement that amassed more than 15 million Instagram followers by Thursday, far surpassing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party's 8.8 million followers.
- Indian Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant sparked the backlash during a May 15 hearing, describing unemployed youth and activists as "parasites" and comparing them to "cockroaches" for attacking institutions.
- The CJP manifesto channels youth frustration into satire, proposing a 50 per cent reservation for women in parliament and a 20-year ban on politicians defecting between parties, while membership requires being "unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and able to rant professionally."
- By Thursday, the CJP's X account was withheld in India following a legal demand, as critics dismissed the movement as "performance theatre" rather than meaningful political organizing.
- Dipke stated the movement may move offline if required, addressing an acute crisis where unemployment among graduates aged 15 to 25 is close to 40 per cent across India.
134 Articles
134 Articles
India's Gen-Z 'cockroach party' claims website has been blocked by authorities
NEW DELHI — India's viral "cockroach" political parody group says the authorities have blocked its website just days since it launched as a joke after the country's chief justice reportedly compared unemployed young people to the insects.The satirical movement, called the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), taps into growing frustration over unemployment, inflation and living costs under Narendra Modi’s government, gaining more than 22 million Instagra…
The Cockroaches are restless: Anatomy of a 22-million-strong meme movement
Let’s be clear. The Cockroach Janta Party is not a political party. It started as satire – its founder has said so many times, and he said so again when I spent an hour chatting with him for a Newslaundry interview.Here’s how it began: Abhijeet heard the CJI’s comments after a workout, it enraged him – “how could someone be so bitter” – and he thought to himself: why don’t we all just become cockroaches? He tweeted, gave a call to action for coc…
With the cockroach party, the Indian youth protest with biting ridicule against unemployment.
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