As the Cockroach Janta Party( CJP) protest entered its fifth day at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, its founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the government officials refuse to disclose the order behind the blocking of the group's social media accounts, citing confidentiality.
Dipke appeared before a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) committee reviewing the withholding of the group's X account. He claimed officials did not provide any explanation for the action.
Questioning the government's stance on confidentiality, Dipke said, "Everything is confidential; you should have kept the NEET paper confidential as well. Why did that leak? These suicides would not have happened."
Alleging an attempt to silence the group, he said officials told them their social media accounts were being followed by users in Pakistan.
His remarks came a day after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan described the outfit as the "B-team of terrorists".
Responding to the charge, Dipke said, "Are we asking for votes? We are asking for justice. We are taxpayers, our parents are taxpayers, and you call us terrorists. Are you not ashamed?"
He further slammed the government's use of the term, saying, "You called farmers and doctors terrorists. Who is left?"
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dipke said, "PM cannot take a resignation and claims to have stopped the Russia-Ukraine war. Can he stop paper leaks?"
Holding the education minister accountable for the fallout from alleged examination irregularities, he said, "Who is responsible for the suicides? It is Dharmendra Pradhan."
Asked about Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's remark that established political parties would ultimately have to take forward issues raised by the CJP, Dipke said, "Political parties can do what they want. We are not here for votes, nor are we here for a political rally. We are here to demand justice."
Dipke reiterated that the group remains open to talks with the government, provided Pradhan resigns, but claimed no outreach had been made so far. "They are calling us terrorists instead," he quipped.
The protest, led by Dipke, seeks Pradhan's resignation over alleged irregularities in examinations and the NEET paper-leak controversy. He has refused to leave the protest site.
The CJP gained traction on social media following its launch on May 16 amid a controversy over remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which were widely interpreted as comparing unemployed youth to "cockroaches".
The group's original X account was withheld in India on May 21. It later returned to the platform through a new handle, 'Cockroach is Back'.
