What began as a satirical online campaign has rapidly evolved into one of India’s biggest viral political movements, with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) crossing 15 million Instagram followers within five days and overtaking the BJP and Congress on the platform.
The meme-driven movement emerged after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made controversial remarks during a court hearing last week, referring to certain activists and unemployed youth as “cockroaches”. The remarks triggered widespread outrage online, particularly among Gen Z users.
Founded by Abhijeet Dipke, the campaign gained traction through political satire, memes and criticism centred on unemployment, examination paper leaks and political accountability. The Instagram handle @cockroachjantaparty crossed 15.6 million followers on Thursday, while the BJP’s official account has around 8.8 million followers and Congress about 13.3 million.
Several public figures, including activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, interacted with or expressed support for the campaign online.
Bhushan urged the group to raise issues such as the NEET paper leak and unemployment, calling for a “right to Employment law” on X.
The controversy began after the CJI’s oral observations during a May 15 hearing. Justice Surya Kant later clarified that his remarks were directed at individuals entering professions using “fake and bogus degrees” and not at India’s youth.
Despite the clarification, the campaign continued to grow rapidly across social media platforms. The movement also claims that more than two lakh people have registered through its website.
Also read: Online 'party' gains 3.7M followers after CJI's remarks
X handle withheld
The movement faced a setback on Thursday after the CJP’s X account was withheld in India. Soon after, Dipke launched a new handle titled “Cockroach Is Back” with the tagline “Cockroaches Don’t Die”.
“This was expected since there were attempts to hack the account yesterday. But this is a self-goal by the government,” Dipke told PTI, adding that the team would pursue legal remedies.
Within hours of its launch, the new X account attracted more than 39,000 followers and renewed demands for Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET paper leak issue.
Though the original X account remains inaccessible in India, it can reportedly still be accessed through VPN services. Several opposition leaders and activists criticised the action, calling it an attack on digital dissent and free expression.
Dipke, however, maintained that the movement was not seeking to become a conventional political outfit, arguing that its popularity reflected growing frustration among young Indians.
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