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Cockroach Janta Party X Account Blocked After Surpassing BJP on Instagram
Hours after the Cockroach Janata Party overtook PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party on Instagram, it faced a setback on a different social media platform.
The satirical party, which is now turning into a youth-led movement against the BJP, said its X account, 'CPJ_2029' was "banned in India."
Founder Abhijeet Dipke shared a screenshot of the blocked account. "As expected, Cockroach Janta Party’s account has been withheld in India," he said.
On Instagram, Dipke urged his over 10 million followers to protest against the move. "We hadn't written anything wrong. We only demanded the resignation of the (education) minister because a student has committed suicide. We only want accountability. What kind of a democracy is this?" he said in a video message.
Dipke and the CJP had been demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, after a massive all-India pre-medical entrance exam was canceled due to allegations of leaked papers.
The high-pressure exam is set to be reconducted in June, but students across India have been impacted by the developments. As per Indian media reports, at least two students have committed suicide due to the cancelation.
Dipke had earlier reported that he was fending off attempts to hack into the CJP's Instagram account.
India has a legal framework that allows the government to intervene directly in online content by ordering platforms to remove or block content on grounds such as national security or public order.
These directives are legally binding but are not made public.
Modi's BJP is facing a 'Cockroach' infestation
A parody political party, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), gathered millions of followers within 24 hours on Meta-owned social media platform Instagram to overtake theworld's largest political party — Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)
The CJP had less than a million followers on Tuesday which quickly grew to over three million followers on Wednesday morning and more than 10.8 million followers on Thursday. That's higher than the 8.7 million people following the BJP on the platform.
"I can't tell you how happy I am today. We are just hours away from overtaking the world's largest party on Instagram," CJP's founder Abhijeet Dipke said in a post on Wednesday evening.
"You are about to make history," he said, saluting India's youth for "bringing the BJP to their knees in just four days."
"Think of what else you can do," he said.
What is the cockroach movement?
It all began on May 15 when the Chief Justice of India criticized India's youth — likening some of them to "parasites" and "cockroaches" — while speaking about fake degrees at a case hearing.
"There are youngsters like cockroaches who do not get any employment…some of them become media, some become social media, some RTI activists, and they start attacking everyone," he had said.
Within a day, Dipke asked, "What if all cockroaches come together?"
Up came the parody website with a five-point manifesto, promising to clamp down on corruption, inter-party defection and increasing women representation in the Indian parliament. Eligibility criteria to join the parody party includes laziness, unemployment and a chronic presence online.
The CJP is currently headquartered at "wherever the wifi works."
DW has reached out to BJP spokesperson Shazia Ilmi ,who is yet to respond to our queries. We will update you if and when she does.
'No longer a satire,' Cockroach Janata Party founder tells DW
DW Reporter Shalu Yadav spoke to the man who created the Cockroach Janata Party.
Abhijeet Dipke told DW that while the movement came out of one, it was "no longer a satire or a joke."
"It's getting pretty serious," he had said.
