Abhijit Dipke, the founder of the protest movement “Cockroach People’s Party,” has accused the Indian government of taking the party’s official website offline and hacking his personal Instagram account.
At the same time, the party’s official account on X was suspended inside India on Thursday. Indian authorities have not yet issued an official response to these allegations.
The symbolic protest party gained massive attention on social media only five days after its launch. Its Instagram page attracted more than 22 million followers a figure that, according to Indian media, broke the record for the highest number of followers among political parties and movements in the country.
In comparison, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has around 9 million Instagram followers after years of activity.
Abhijit Dipke said that more than one million people have registered to join the movement over the past week. According to him, several Indian politicians and members of parliament have also joined the movement.
The “Cockroach People’s Party” was formed about a week ago in response to remarks made by Surya Kant, the Chief Justice of India. In his comments, he had compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches,” remarks that triggered widespread backlash from Generation Z and social media users.
Surya Kant later clarified that he had been referring to people with fake degrees, but the explanation failed to calm the wave of criticism.
The movement emerged at a time when many young people in India are facing problems such as widespread unemployment, inflation, rising living costs, and social challenges.
The “Cockroach People’s Party” has declared the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Education, as its main demand.
Abhijit Dipke said that more than 600,000 people have already signed a petition calling for the minister’s removal. The demand followed allegations of cheating in India’s medical entrance examinations.
The membership conditions of the party were intentionally written in a humorous tone. The party’s website stated: “Want to join us? We have four criteria: being unemployed, being lazy, always being online, and having the ability to complain professionally.”
The movement has also described itself as “a political front of the youth, by the youth, and for the youth secular, socialist, democratic, and lazy.”
Writer:Salima Aryaei
