Thirty-year-old Abhijeet Dipke started the Cockroach Janta Party on May 16 as a satirical response to remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The online movement has drawn over 50,000 members within two days through a simple registration form.
Abhijeet Dipke, who is completing a master’s degree in public relations at Boston University, posted a Google form on X inviting registrations for the new outfit. He had earlier worked on the social media team of the Aam Aadmi Party between 2020 and 2023.
The group’s five-point manifesto calls for 50 percent reservation for women in cabinet posts, a 20-year ban on defecting legislators, probes into the bank accounts of certain media anchors, and restrictions on post-retirement appointments for judges. Its website states the party seeks to ask where public money has gone.
Dipke described the name as a way for young people to own the label and highlight systemic rot. He said the Chief Justice’s later clarification that the remark targeted fake-degree holders did not address the broader frustration felt by unemployed youth.
The movement presents itself as secular, socialist, democratic and anti-caste, drawing inspiration from Gandhi, Ambedkar and Nehru. It claims zero sponsors and lists its tagline as the voice of the lazy and unemployed.
