The X account of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a satirical digital outfit that emerged last week and quickly gained traction on social media, was withheld in India on Thursday. Shortly afterwards, another account appeared on the platform under the name "Cockroach is Back".
"This was expected since there were attempts to hack the account yesterday. But this is a self-goal by the government," said the party's founder Abhijeet Dipke, adding: "I have now started a new account named 'Cockroach Is Back' on X."
He said the team would pursue the matter through legal channels.
By 3:40 pm, a little over an hour after it was launched, the "Cockroach Is Back" X account had amassed 16,800 followers.
CJP, which according to Dipke had 201,000 followers on X, emerged following a controversy over CJI Surya Kant using the terms "parasites" and "cockroaches" while reprimanding a lawyer over a plea seeking senior designation. The CJI later clarified that he was misquoted and his remarks were directed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession through "fake and bogus degrees".
The CJP came into existence a day after the CJI’s remarks on 15 May. It quickly went viral, drawing support from politicians, activists, artists, and a large number of social media users.
While the X account became inaccessible in India on Thursday, the outfit’s Instagram page remained active with around 14.3 million followers — and counting. One Instagram post compared its following with that of the BJP's official account, which has around 8.8 million followers on the Meta-owned platform.
Questioning the action against what he described as a satirical platform, Dipke said the account and the movement had been growing rapidly.
"The X handle and movement has been growing, getting thousands of followers every day... perhaps that is what scared the government," Dipke alleged, Dipke, who was earlier associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Thursday posted on X that attempts were also being made to hack the Instagram account.
Several other accounts using the 'cockroach' nomenclature remain active on X. These include 'The Cockroach Youth', 'Cockroach News', 'IAmCockroach', 'Cockroach Party of India' and 'Cockroach Janata Party (Gen Z)'.
What began as an online satire project has soon evolved into a wider conversation about contemporary protest and the role of humour and meme culture in it.
Using memes, the Cockroach Janata Party platform gained traction through sharp political satire and commentary.
Much of its content centres on youth concerns such as unemployment, examination paper leaks and education, packaged through graphics, animation, manifestos and charter-style demands.
The rapid rise drew attention not only from meme creators and young users but also from public figures who viewed it as a form of digital dissent.
Politicians, including TMC leaders Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, engaged with or expressed interest in the movement, alongside activists such as Prashant Bhushan and Anjali Bharadwaj.
The website of Cockroach Janata Party, which quickly became CJP for many, describes itself as a "political party for the people the system forgot to count. Five demands. Zero sponsors. One large, stubborn swarm".
Complete with sections on 'manifesto', 'vision', 'eligibility' and 'contact', the website also declares that it is the "Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed".
The CJI had said on May 15, "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 following day, he said in a strongly worded clarification, "I am pained to read how a section of the media has misquoted my oral observations made during the hearing of a frivolous case yesterday."
(With inputs from PTI)
