- Cocroaches is a new phenomenon in India
- The Rise of the Cockroach Janata Party
Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Cockroaches Janata Party (CJP) received death threats. Dipke said he received a threatening message that offered money to shut down the Cockroach Janata Party account and warned that he could be killed in the US if he refused. “We will give you money to shut down the account of Cockroach Janata Party. Otherwise, we will get you killed even in the US,” the message warned. “We have got your phone number now; it won’t take long for us to find your home,” the threatening message said further.
Family Concerns and Political Satire
Dipke’s parents Bhagwan Dipke and Anita Dipke who live in Maharasrta’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar told a Marathi news channel that they fear their son could face legal trouble because of his political satire content. “If we look at politics nowadays, fear is natural, no matter how many followers he has. In one of his interviews, he himself expressed fear of being arrested after returning to India. We read about such incidents in newspapers,” Bhagwan Dipke said.
Dipke’s parents said they learnt about their son’s popularity through neighbours and relatives. “Later, I was told by one of my grandchildren that he has more followers on social media than many prominent people in the country. Earlier he had worked for AAP. Even then, I had told him that we were not into politics and that he should pursue a service,” Anita Dipke said. “I am worried because he is now famous. And such individuals get arrested. I have not slept for the past two nights worrying about what might happen to him. I hate politics and have no interest in it,” Bhagwan said.
Origins of the CJP Movement
The satirical campaign was started in response to remarks allegedly made by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant during a court hearing. He reportedly said, “There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any place in profession. Some of them become media, some of them become social media, RTI activists and other activists and they start attacking everyone.” The Chief Justice later clarified that his remarks had been taken out of context and were intended specifically for individuals entering professions with fake or bogus degrees.
In response to the reported statement of the CJI, Abhijeet Dipke, a student at Boston University, launched the Cockroach Janata Party campaign. Since then, its Instagram account (@cockroachjantaparty) has witnessed explosive growth, crossing 22.4 million followers. Its X account was withheld in India in response to a “legal request.” Soon afterwards, Dipke created a new account on the platform with the name “Cockroach is back.” He also claimed that there have been multiple attempts to hack his personal Instagram account. Meme pages, Instagram reels, loosely held political formations began aggregating at remarkable speed.
Dipke is a political communication strategist whose work is related to narrative building, public messaging and shaping public opinion through digital platforms. He did his undergraduate studies in journalism at Pune and went to the US for doing MS in public relations at Boston.
Background and the CJP Manifesto
Instead of ignoring the CJI comment, Dipke has flipped into satirical group and the youth across the country have been supporting his party in an unprecedented way. According to the party’s website, the party is the voice of the lazy and unemployed. The party’s manifesto makes five promises. They are
1. If CJP comes to power the chief justice will be granted a Rajya Sabha seat as a reward.
2. If any legitimate vote is deleted, whether in CJP or opposition ruled state, the election body shall be arrested under UAPA as taking away voting rights from the citizens is no less crime than terrorism.
3. Women will receive 50 percent reservations.
4. All media houses owned by influential businessmen will have their licenses cancelled. 5. Any MLA or MP who defected from one party to another shall be barred from contesting elections or holding public office for 20 years.
Membership Criteria and Political Backing
Those who wish to join the Cockroach Janata Party shall be unemployed by force or by choice or by principle. They should be physically unemployed and their brain continues to spiral. They shall be chronically online for at least eleven hours a day including the bathroom breaks. They can rant professionally: As long as the content is sharp, honest and points at something that actually matters. The 30 years old Abhijeet Dipke worked as a political strategist for AAP for some time. The information about his party, CJP, which is yet to be registered, went viral within no time.
Shashi Tharoor, the four-time MP representing Thiruvananthapuram, has said the instant popularity the new satirical party received reveals how frustrated the youth in the country are. He commented that it is time for the opposition parties to buckle up and unite to fight the ruling dispensation which is evidently very unpopular. The party has got one lakh followers within 72 hours of the launch. Born on 25 September 1995, Abhijeet grew up in Pune in an atmosphere where journalism and civic discourse prevail. Popular Member of Parliament belonging to the TMC Mahua Moitra and former deputy chief minister of Delhi Sisodia have started supporting the CJP.
Structural Mobilization and Global Parallels
Comparisons with Bangladesh and Nepal could be drawn with caution. The underlying conditions are not identical but roughly the same. But how far this initial anger and frustration would lead to structural mobilization and institutionalization remains to be seen. The cancellation of NEET test has infuriated lakhs of students and their parents. The way elections are manipulated and the courts stopped dispensing justice, the media behaving like rubber stamp of the government have made the environment in the country unbearable. The government headed by Narendra Modi is well organized and it can do many things to neutralize the forces behind the satirical but angry movement. Even in Bangladesh, the government of Sheik Hasina (Awami League) appeared very strong. We have witnessed a gigantic movement that forced Hasina to leave Dhaka and flee to New Delhi. The youth of India today are proud to be cockroaches which would not die even if a bomb is dropped on them. Coming days will further show the way as to what kind of turn the CJP will take.
Prominent Journalist
Dr. K. Ramachandra Murthy is a versatile journalist with a distinguished career. Dr. Murthy began his extensive career with Andhra Prabha of The Indian Express group in Bengaluru. He was editor of Udayam, Vaartha and Andhra Jyothy. Dr. Murthy founded and edited HMTV news channel and The Hans India, an English newspaper. He was also editorial director of the Telugu newspaper, Saakshi. He was awarded Ph. D for his research work in rural reporting. Dr. Murthy’s five decades in journalism showcases his influential roles across both print and electronic media. He wrote the political biography of NTR published by Harper Collins.
