CJP Official Website Taken Down, Its’ Accounts on X and Instagram Withheld in India

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, May 23: Though many political leaders believed that silencing the critics of the government would be a “foolish move” in a democracy, the official website of the newly-created Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), believed to be the voice of the frustrated younger generation, has been taken down a day after it raised the demand for the resignation of the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leakage of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – Under Graduate (NEET – UG) question paper.

Taking down of the website followed withholding the CJP’s official handle on X and its backup Instagram account, its founder Boston University student Abhijeet Dipke said on Saturday, He also claimed that both his personal Instagram account and the party’s Instagram account had been “hacked.”

The outfit on Friday had launched a campaign seeking Mr Pradhan’s resignation over the question paper leakage and the alleged systemic failures in the education sector. Later in the day, Mr Dipke claimed that he was receiving death threats and shared screenshots of the threat messages.

On Saturday, Mr Dipke said the party’s “iconic website,” cockroachjantaparty.org, had been taken down as part of the latest action against the movement. In a post on X, Mr Dipke listed what he described as coordinated action against the movement. “Crackdown on Cockroach Janta Party. Instagram page hacked. My personal Instagram hacked. Twitter account withheld. Back up account also taken down,” he said.

“Please note that we currently do not have access to any of our platforms. Any post made after this should not be considered an official statement from the Cockroach Janta Party,” he said.

The platform surfaced last week after a row over remarks linked to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant during a court hearing on granting “senior” status to lawyers, referring to “youngsters” as “cockroaches” and “parasites.” Later, the CJI said his remarks had been misquoted and that they were aimed at people entering the legal field with “fake and bogus degrees.”

What started as an online satire campaign later became a broader discussion of digital dissent and growing frustration among young people. Through memes and political commentary, the platform has raised issues such as unemployment, examination paper leaks and education.

The founder said 10 lakh cockroaches had registered as members through the website, while 6 lakh cockroaches had signed a petition seeking the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged failures in the education system, particularly due to the NEET-UG 2026 ‘paper leak’ controversy.

“Why is the government so scared of cockroaches? But this dictatorial behaviour is opening the eyes of India’s youth. Our only crime is we were demanding a better future for ourselves. But you can’t get rid of us that easily. We’re working on a new home right now. Cockroaches never die,” he wrote in a post on X.

Significantly, the satirical digital outfit, CJP, gained a staggering 19 million followers in Instagram within a week of being formed. As of Saturday afternoon, CJP crossed 22 million followers on Instagram. This put it well ahead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has around 9.2 million followers on the Meta-owned platform, and the main opposition Congress party, which has around 13.4 million followers.

The party appeared after controversy broke out over CJI Surya Kant using the terms “parasites” and “cockroaches” while reprimanding a lawyer over his plea seeking senior designation. “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 CJI had said.

The CJI later said he had been misquoted and clarified that the remarks were aimed only at people entering the legal profession using “fake and bogus degrees.” The Cockroach Janta Party was formed a day after the CJI’s remarks on May 15. It rapidly went viral and drew support from politicians, activists, artists and a large number of social media users across age groups.

Political leaders such as Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, along with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, have either interacted with or shown interest in the movement. Activists, including Prashant Bhushan and Anjali Bharadwaj, have also engaged with it.

The decision to block the CJP’s X account also faced criticism from the digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which called it a “blatant misuse of state power” and an “attempt to curb free speech.”

A day after the CJP account was withheld in India in response to a legal complaint, the Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had dubbed the move as “foolish.” Voicing concern for the blocked account, Mr Tharoor said, “Democracy’s great virtue is the outlets it provides for public sentiment, frustration and grievances. Letting these be aired on a satirical site IS in the national interest.”

Reportedly, CJP’s X account was withheld in India in response to a legal complaint on Wednesday. The account had gained over two lakh followers after it set the social media frenzy for its satirical content.

Mr Dipke’s parents who live in Chhatrapati Maharaj Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, had expressed concern over their son’s move to create CJP overwhelmed by fears that he could land in trouble or even face arrest. His father Bhagwan Dipke said the explosion of CJP on social media has made him anxious. “I’m 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,” he added.

His parents had said they were not keen on letting their son enter politics. “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,” said Mr Dipke. His mother Ms Anita Dipke, said she would want her son to stay away from politics and instead focus on getting a job.

“We just want him to come home safely. Whether he continues in politics will be his decision, but we do not want him to pursue it. I do not know whether he will listen to us or not. I will not support him in this. I am worried about him,” she said.

The mother said Mr Abhijeet Dipke studied in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar initially and later moved to Pune for further studies. Engineering was difficult for him, so he decided to move towards mass media, she said. Mr Bhagwan Dipke added that Mr Abhijeet Dipke decided to study journalism abroad because his sister was already there. The father said he wanted his son to take up a job in Pune or Delhi.

The parents said they first learned about the CJP from a neighbour. “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 with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Even then, I had told him that we were not into politics and that he should pursue a service,” said Ms Anita Dipke.