I don’t think the ruling party has the stomach for sarcasm, says Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke
Cockroach Janta Party website removed. Photo: Special arrangement
The official website of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a satirical youth-led political group, was taken down on Saturday (May 23, 2026) at 9 am.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, 30, accused the Indian government of orchestrating the takedown and wrote on social media platform X that the organization’s website had gained nearly 10,000 members. In the same post, he claimed that more than six thousand people had signed a petition on Friday (May 22, 2026) demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following the leak of the NEET-UG 2026 paper.
Formed on May 16 as an exercise in political satire in the wake of Indian Chief Justice Surya Kant’s controversial “cockroach” remark (which he later clarified), the Cockroach Janta Party quickly evolved from a Google form circulating on Mr. Dipke’s X account into a full-fledged online movement. Within days, CJP had expanded to a website and Instagram account, amassing 22.1 million followers – surpassing the online following of all major political parties in India.
CJP’s meteoric rise over the week has drawn intense reactions online, ranging from admiration and derision to political suspicion. The period also saw several accounts associated with the CJP flooded online, allegations of death threats against Mr Dipke and his family, and allegations that social media handles were attacked or detained. On May 21, CJP’s X account, which had more than two million followers, was seized in India. Mr Dipke later launched a new account called ‘The Cockroach Returns’, which has 2.1 million followers (May 23, 20:15).
The Cockroach Janta Party quickly evolved from a Google form circulated on Dipke’s X account into a full-fledged online movement
“A national daily reported that my X account had been blocked under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, at the behest of the Centre, following tip-offs from an intelligence agency that raised ‘national security concerns’. It’s one thing to satire, perceived as a national threat, and it’s another that today it involves the youth of the country and you call that the youth are the national threat of this country? lost all access to my to a personal Instagram account and also to the CJP account on the social media platform There have been attempts to hack into my accounts for three days now,” Mr. Dipke told The Hindu over the phone from the US, where he is based.
You can hack and hold accounts, but you can’t hack this movement.
We will not stop and will keep raising our voice against this autocracy. Each attack makes the cockroaches stronger.
We are working on a plan to ensure that this movement continues in a sustainable manner and embraces… pic.twitter.com/35mJ3hCBQo
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 23, 2026
The first death threat he received was from an unknown phone number on May 22, Mr. Dipke said. “Since then, I have been receiving constant threats. The most disturbing of them was one in which a man, indifferent to revealing his face, sent me a death threat via WhatsApp video. The second threat came with the address of my house in India, where my parents live,” he added.
The government has taken down our iconic website – https://t.co/l6i6Ry8h5S.
10 Lakh cockroaches have registered on our site has members.
6 Lakh cockroaches signed a petition demanding Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
Why is the government so afraid of cockroaches?…
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 23, 2026
Mr. Dipke, stationed continents away from his loved ones, expressed concern for his parents’ safety. “The decision to start this practical satire was my decision and my choice. My family and loved ones had no part in it, had no say in it. I’m really angry that they were dragged into this through no fault of theirs,” he said.
Video.
Will the authorities act against these threats? https://t.co/jQ7hlerhpLpic.twitter.com/ILvz09zB9U
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 22, 2026
The CJP is not yet a political party; that means he is not registered with the Election Commission of India. However, Mr. Dipke worked with the social media team of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from 2020 to 2023 and there has been speculation about his alleged association with the AAP, which he is quickly dispelling. “I have worked with them and have no reservations about owning this. But this satirical outfit has nothing to do with AAP. Ideologically, I would stress that we are inspired by Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru,” he said.
Mr. Dipke criticized the ruling party for sabotaging the satirical movement. “I don’t think the ruling party has the stomach for sarcasm,” he said.
“Why is the government so afraid of cockroaches? But this dictatorial behavior is an eye opener for the youth of India. Our only crime is (that) we demanded a better future for ourselves. But you will not get rid of us so easily. Right now we are working on a new home. Cockroaches never die,” Mr. Dipke said in his X post about the removal of the CJP website.
Published – 23 May 2026 15:11 IST