NEW DELHI, MAY 21 (AGENCIES): The “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), launched as a satirical online campaign, has gone viral on social media, reportedly gaining around 18 million Instagram followers within a week– surpassing many mainstream political parties on the platform.
The campaign was started by Abhijeet Dipke, a former associate of Aam Aadmi Party and political communications strategist currently studying at Boston University. The movement emerged after a controversial “cockroach” remark allegedly made by Chief Justice Surya Kant during a court hearing on May 15.
While initial reports claimed the remark compared unemployed youth to cockroaches, the Chief Justice later clarified that his comments targeted holders of fake degrees, not the country’s youth, and expressed regret over the misunderstanding.
The controversy nevertheless triggered widespread online debate. Dipke launched the CJP campaign on May 16 through X, inviting people to join via a Google Form. Thousands reportedly responded.
On Thursday, CJP’s X account with 201,000 followers was withheld in India, prompting Dipke to launch a new handle, “Cockroach Is Back,” which quickly gained over 39,000 followers.
