Cockroach satire party hits 22m followers, alleges govt hack

The founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical political movement that has attracted over 22 million Instagram followers in just one week, has accused the Indian government of taking down the group's official website and hacking his personal account. Abhijeet Dipke, who is currently studying at Boston University, launched the movement in response to comments made by India's Chief Justice Surya Kant earlier this month, in which he compared unemployed young people to cockroaches. Dipke said on social media platform X that the government had taken down the "iconic" website, and that both his personal Instagram and the party's Instagram accounts had been compromised. The movement, whose initials CJP are a play on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has campaign for the resignation of Indian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over allegations that exam papers were leaked, forcing the cancellation of a government-run medical entrance test. According to Dipke, one million people have signed up to join the movement in the past week, with 600,000 people signing the petition for Pradhan's resignation. Large protests have broken out across the country in recent weeks in response to the exam leaks. The CJP's Instagram following of 22 million now exceeds the BJP's nine million followers, making it one of the largest online political movements in the country. Chief Justice Kant has since clarified his remarks, stating they were aimed specifically at people who acquire fraudulent degrees, and described the country's youth as "the pillars of a developed India." However, the movement has resonated deeply with frustrated young Indians who feel that street protests could have serious consequences, making the satirical approach an attractive alternative form of dissent. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Dipke explained the thinking behind his rapidly growing movement: "Those in power think citizens are cockroaches and parasites. They should know that cockroaches breed in rotten places. That's what India is today."