New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party, which started as a parody party and a social media trend, is refusing to die down. Political leaders such as Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, along with lawyer Prashant Bhushan, have already extended their support to the “political party”. The latest prominent voice to back it is Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail.
In a 37-second reel posted on Instagram, Bhatia said he supports the CJP “100 per cent”.
Abhijeet Dipke announced CJP as a satire, but the joke soon turned into a movement after users on social media started identifying themselves as “cockroaches”.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, while making an observation on 15 May, referred to the unemployed youth of the country as cockroaches and parasites. He later clarified, saying that the media had misquoted him.
“There are already parasites of society who attack the system and you want to join hands with them? There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment and don’t have any place in the profession,” Kant said.
His remarks, he clarified, were aimed at people “using fake and bogus” degrees.
‘Well done, my friends’
Bhatia expressed his disappointment over the CJI’s remarks. In the reel, he referred to the CJI as a “good friend”, but “I am a little disappointed that he has referred to you as cockroaches”.
“Well done, my friends. You have taken a stand. Nobody should refer to you as a cockroach,” the Indian-American entrepreneur said.
The founder of CJP, a student at Boston University, posted an announcement about a new platform for all “cockroaches” on X on 16 May.
He also added a Google form for anyone who wanted to be part of the new party. The post now has over 96,000 views.
The announcement spread like wildfire across social media platforms. The Instagram page, Cockroach Janta Party, now has more than three million followers, whereas its X page has over 90 thousand followers.
Dipke, who spoke to ThePrint over call, said “influencers are reaching out to him for support”.
“They wrote to me, do not back off!” Dipke said.
He added that he has received requests from the “cockroaches” to keep the “party” going.
“The youth feel disconnected from existing political parties and institutions. Their politics feel outdated. Young people want something that reflects their language, humour and frustrations,” said Dipke.
Dipke’s arguments were supported by Bhatia, who called the “cockroaches” the future of India.
“I respect you for the stance you have taken. It’s about time you start asking the right questions. Otherwise, people will take you for granted”, he said.
He urged the “cockroaches” to keep up the good fight.
“Fight for your rights and do not let these parties take advantage of you,” Bhatia said.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)