India's viral 'Cockroach' youth group plans street protest in challenge to Modi
The party is rallying young people over exam scandals, unemployment and inflation
The founder of an online Indian youth group that has amassed millions of followers in days said today (1 June) he plans to take his movement on to the streets with a protest against the education minister and in a show of dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Cockroach Janta Party has tapped into the concerns of the under-30s, who are estimated to make up more than half of India's 1.42 billion population, over politics, unemployment and inflation.
Founder Abhijeet Dipke, who is based in the US, has focused in particular on recent leaks of exam papers and errors in marking final-year school exams that threaten to derail the careers of millions of students.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
"I will be returning to India to demand the resignation of the education minister," Dipke said on his personal account on X, urging young people to join a peaceful protest in Delhi and "exercise our constitutional right to seek accountability from the government."
He said nearly 8,00,000 students have signed a petition seeking Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
The minister and a government spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The CJP's rapid rise marks one of the largest online expressions of dissent against Modi's 12-year rule, and analysts say it could dent his image despite recent state election victories, as frustration grows over rising fuel prices and gas shortages linked to the Iran war.
The party's name is a reference to comments by India's top judge, Chief Justice Surya Kant of the Supreme Court, that compared some unemployed youth to cockroaches.
Kant later said he did not mean to criticise young people but was referring to those with "fake and bogus degrees". The party has more than 22 million followers on Instagram.
Dipke says his family is worried he could be arrested
Dipke, who has lived in the US for the past two years, said his family and friends were worried he could be arrested on his return. "How long can we live in fear?" he said.
The government has blocked the CJP's X account and Dipke told Reuters he had to regain control of the party's Instagram page from unknown hackers.
Senior cabinet minister Kiren Rijiju has accused the CJP of seeking social media followers from arch-enemy Pakistan and the "anti-India gang", while Modi has yet to comment.
