CJI’s ‘fly’ remark spawns ‘Makhi Janta Party’

NEW DELHI, OCT 14 (AGENCIES): A satirical outfit called the Makhi Janta Party (MJP) has emerged online following a recent remark by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, drawing comparisons with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began as a satirical response to an earlier remark by the judge and later evolved into a movement.
The MJP claimed that it had garnered more than 40 lakh views and over 3.3 lakh followers on Instagram within 72 hours. Its social media page identifies a student named Aaryan as its founder. An Instagram story posted by the account also said the outfit was looking for spokespersons.
According to the account information, the page joined Instagram in June 2021 and changed its username eight times before adopting the current handle, makhijantaparty.ig.
One of the outfit’s posts indicated that its name was inspired by CJI Surya Kant’s recent “hammer to kill a fly” remark. The comment came during a hearing on October 9, when the Supreme Court questioned the rationale behind a blanket shutdown of public transport in Delhi ahead of the CJP protest scheduled for October 10.
The bench said security concerns could justify regulating public transport but not bringing the entire system to a halt. “One can regulate but it is completely different to put a halt on everything… you cannot stop everything,” the bench observed, adding that authorities could not use a “hammer to kill a fly [makkhi]”.
Responding to the remark, the MJP wrote on social media: “Jab CJI ne hi kaha– ‘Can’t use hammer to kill a fly!’ ab to makkhi bhi bolegi hum bhi kisi se kum nahi.”
The Hindi statement translates to: “When the CJI himself said, ‘Can’t use a hammer to kill a fly’, now even the fly will say that it is no less than anyone else.”
MJP has also expressed solidarity with the CJP and All India Students’ Association (AISA) member Neha Bora, who has been protesting against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The MJP said it was trying to contact the CJP to explore the possibility of a common stand or coordinated action, subject to mutual agreement.