The X (formerly Twitter) account of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical political movement that rose to prominence through sharp anti-establishment commentary and criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government, has been withheld in India, its founder Abhjeet Dipke announced on Thursday, May 21.
The reason behind the restriction remains unclear. Responding to the action, Abhjeet questioned why the government was “so scared” of a satirical movement. He alleged that attempts were made to hack the account before it was legally withheld in India and urged supporters to raise questions about freedom of expression.
“We did not do anything wrong. We just demanded the resignation of the Minister and sought accountability over the death of the student. What kind of democracy is this?” Abhjeet said in a video statement shared on Facebook and Instagram. Previously, Abhjeet had demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET question paper leak, which has led to the National Testing Agency (NTA) deciding to re-conduct the exam. On May 13, a student in Goa reportedly died by suicide over the exam’s cancellation.
CJP emerged online as a parody political movement positioning itself as the voice of “the lazy, unemployed, and chronically online”. The movement gained traction amid growing frustration among sections of young Indians over unemployment, rising inequality, attacks on dissent, and what critics describe as the centralisation of power under the BJP government. Through memes, satire, and political commentary, CJP has frequently targeted the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “godi media,” and corporate influence in politics, while framing itself as a countercultural response to mainstream nationalism and partisan politics.
With a mere 59 posts, the movement built a large digital following, amassing over 13 million followers on Instagram, more than the BJP’s 8.8 million followers on the platform. CJP describes itself as a political party “for the people the system forgot to count”.
Its manifesto includes demands such as barring retired Chief Justices from receiving Rajya Sabha posts, arresting Election Commission officials under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act if legitimate votes are deleted, implementing 50% reservation for women in Parliament and cabinets, cancelling licences of media houses owned by Ambani and Adani, investigating bank accounts of “godi media” anchors, and banning defecting MLAs and MPs from contesting elections or holding office for 20 years.
The party jokingly lists its eligibility criteria as being unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and capable of “ranting professionally”.
The vision of CJP as described on its website is: “We are not here to set up another PM CARES, holiday in Davos on the taxpayer’s salary slip, or rebrand corruption as ‘strategic spending.’ We are here to ask – loudly, repeatedly, in writing – where the money went.”