CJP Jantar Mantar sit-in day 5: Dipke appears before MeitY panel over X account ban

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijit Dipke addresses a press conference at the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi on June 24, 2026. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) entered the fifth day of its sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, with founder Abhijeet Dipke claiming that officials refused to show the order to block their social media accounts during a review meeting citing confidentiality.

Speaking before a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) committee on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) regarding the seizure of the X Group account, Mr Dipke said the authorities had not explained the reason for the action.

He questioned why similar confidentiality was not maintained in case of NEET paper leak. “Everything is confidential; you should have kept the NEET paper confidential too. Why was it leaked? These suicides would not have happened,” he said.

He claimed the move was aimed at suppressing their voices and claimed officials told them the accounts were being monitored by people in Pakistan. His remarks came a day after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan accused them of being the “B-Team of terrorists”.

“We’re asking for votes? We’re asking for justice. We’re taxpayers, our parents are taxpayers, and you’re calling us terrorists. Aren’t you ashamed?” said Mr. Dipke.

He also questioned the government’s response, saying: “You have called farmers and doctors terrorists. Who is left?”

Taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Dipke said: “The Prime Minister cannot resign and claim to have stopped the Russo-Ukraine war. Can he stop the paper leaks?”

Claiming that those responsible for the deaths of the students should be held accountable, he said, “Who is responsible for the suicides? It is Dharmendra Pradhan.”

Asked about the remark of Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who said that while the CJP was an important tool to send a message of youth frustration, the established political parties must take the issue raised by them forward, Mr. Dipke said, “Political parties can do whatever they want. We are not here for votes, nor are we here to demand a political rally…

The CJP founder, who had earlier said they were ready for a dialogue with the government, with the only condition being Mr. Pradhan’s resignation, said the government had not contacted them.

“They call us terrorists instead,” he joked.

Mr Dipke led the sit-in, which entered its fifth day on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) to demand Mr Pradhan’s resignation over alleged examination irregularities and the NEET paper leak dispute, and refused to leave the protest site.

The CJP took social media by storm soon after its launch on May 16 following the controversy surrounding Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant’s remarks, which were widely interpreted as comparing unemployed youth to “cockroaches”.

The digital satire outfit’s original X handle was suspended in India on May 21, after which the group resurfaced with a new handle, “The Cockroach is Back”.

Published – 24 Jun 2026 21:18 IST