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The Indian political world was suddenly shaken by an unusual wave of protests following controversial comments by the Chief Justice of India, sparking a mass satirical political movement named the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ or Cockroach People’s Party. The movement, which began as a spontaneous joke on social media, has rapidly transformed into a real political opposition driven by hundreds of thousands of Gen Z youths.
Citing Al Jazeera on Wednesday, the movement was initiated by a 30-year-old public relations graduate from Boston University, Abhijeet Dipke. Dipke responded to public outrage after Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, in an open court last Friday, likened jobless young activists and social media journalists to cockroaches that plague the system.
“There are youths like cockroaches who do not get jobs or a place in the profession,” Surya Kant said, reported on Thursday (21/5/2026).
“Some become media, some become social media, RTI activists and other activists, and they start attacking everyone,” he added.
Although Kant later clarified that his remarks were directed only at criminals with fake degrees and not to insult all Indian youth, the remark triggered massive anger. Gen Z communities in India, facing job market crisis, high inflation, and sharp religious polarization under 12 years of nationalist Hindu governance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi feel deeply insulted.
As a form of resistance, Dipke established an official website and social media accounts for the Cockroach Janta Party, which sneers at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In just three days, the satirical party’s Instagram account surpassed 3 million followers, and more than 350,000 people including senior opposition politicians such as Mahua Moitra and retired federal bureaucrats have signed up as members.
“Those in power think citizens are cockroaches and parasites… cockroaches breed in a rotten place and that’s the state of India right now,” Dipke said.
Former Indian federal bureaucrat Ashish Joshi became one of the figures who immediately registered to join because he felt the country had been enveloped in an extraordinary fear for a decade to speak out. He believes that amid India’s current atmosphere of hatred, the satirical cockroach party feels like a breath of fresh air. It gives space for freedom to the people.
“In the last decade, there has been a lot of fear in this country and people are afraid to speak,” Joshi said.
“Cockroaches are resilient insects; they survive, and it seems they can form a party and then creep over your system,” Joshi asserted.
The sociopolitical conditions in India are indeed combustible. The unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders has reached a tragic 29.1%, nine times higher than for those who are not educated.
Meanwhile, India’s top Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan assessed that the chief justice’s condescending comments reflect deep prejudice and antipathy from the legal authorities and the government toward youth movements.
“The Chief Justice’s remarks reflect deep-seated prejudice and hostility towards activists and youth in general,” Bhushan explained.
“This also reflects the mentality of the current administration,” Bhushan concluded.