Founder launches new handle as Cockroach Janata Party's X account withheld in India

The X account of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), the satirical online movement that has rapidly gained popularity on social media over the past week, was withheld in India on Thursday, prompting founder Abhijeet Dipke to launch a new account and announce plans to challenge the move legally.

Shortly after the original handle became inaccessible within India, a new X account titled "Cockroach Is Back" appeared online.

“This was expected since there were attempts to hack the account yesterday. But this is a self-goal by the government,” Dipke told PTI.

He said the movement had created a new X handle and would pursue legal remedies against the action.

“At 3.40 pm, a little over an hour after it started, the 'Cockroach Is Back' handle had 16,800 followers,” Dipke said.

According to him, the original Cockroach Janata Party account had accumulated around 201,000 followers on X before it was withheld in India.

Movement emerged after controversy over CJI remarks

The movement traces its origins to controversy surrounding remarks made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing on 15 May.

During proceedings relating to a plea seeking senior designation, the Chief Justice used the terms “parasites” and “cockroaches” while criticising certain individuals associated with the legal profession.

The remarks subsequently sparked extensive debate on social media, with critics alleging they targeted unemployed youth and activists.

The following day, the Chief Justice issued a clarification, stating that he had been misquoted and that his observations were directed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession through what he described as “fake and bogus degrees”.

“I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday,” he said on 16 May.

The Cockroach Janata Party was launched shortly after the controversy and quickly evolved from an online satire initiative into a broader social media movement attracting support from young users, activists, artists and political figures.

Instagram presence continues to grow

While the X account was restricted in India, the movement's Instagram presence remained unaffected.

The party's Instagram account had around 14.3 million followers on Thursday and continued to gain subscribers.

One of the account's recent posts compared its following with that of the official BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) Instagram account, which has approximately 8.8 million followers on the platform.

Dipke questioned the action against what he described as a satirical platform and alleged that the movement's rapid growth may have contributed to the decision.

“The X handle and movement has been growing, getting thousands of followers every day… perhaps that is what scared the government,” he alleged.

He also claimed in a post on X that attempts were being made to compromise the movement's Instagram account, though no independent confirmation of such attempts was immediately available.

From satire to digital protest

Several other accounts using the “cockroach” branding remained active on X, including handles such as "The Cockroach Youth", "Cockroach News", "IAmCockroach", "Cockroach Party of India" and "Cockroach Janata Party (Gen Z)".

What began as a satirical online campaign has increasingly been viewed by supporters as a form of digital protest centred on issues affecting younger Indians.

The movement's content relies heavily on memes, humour, graphics and short-form political commentary. Much of its messaging focuses on unemployment, examination paper leaks, education policy and governance issues.

Its growing popularity has attracted attention from public figures across political and activist circles.

Among those who have engaged with or expressed interest in the movement are TMC (Trinamool Congress) leaders Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, as well as activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan and transparency campaigner Anjali Bharadwaj.

The party's website describes the organisation as a “political party for the people the system forgot to count” and the “Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed”.

Complete with sections labelled manifesto, vision, eligibility and contact, the platform presents itself as a satirical political project while continuing to attract significant online engagement across social media platforms.