A single remark by the Chief Justice of India has given birth to one of the fastest growing political movements the country has seen on social media.
On May 15, Chief Justice Surya Kant, while hearing a case in the Supreme Court alongside Justice Jogmalya Bagchi, referred to unemployed Indian youth as cockroaches and parasites.
The remark triggered immediate anger across the country.The very next day, on May 16, Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Indian student studying public relations at Boston University and a former Aam Aadmi Party social media worker, launched the Cockroach Janata Party on X.
He called it a new platform for all the cockroaches.The response was unlike anything seen before. Within 48 hours, the party launched an anthem, a website, and crossed 40,000 followers on X.
On Instagram, the party crossed 12 million followers in under four days, surpassing several established political party pages.
Supporters across India have also begun creating their own state level pages under the CJP name, turning it into a nationwide conversation.The party describes itself as Secular, Socialist, Democratic, and Lazy, and most of its followers are teenagers and people in their early twenties.
However, questions have been raised. Several content creators have alleged that CJP is a new front for the Aam Aadmi Party, pointing to Dipke’s past association with the party.
Dipke has denied this, saying the youth of India are mature and politically aware, and that they understand their constitutional rights.
He has stated the party is not funded by or linked to any political organisation.Nearly one lakh people have already registered as members online.
