Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has claimed that he is receiving death threats. Posting screenshots of WhatsApp messages that appeared to threaten him, Dipke on X said: “Receiving death threats now.” One of the messages that was sent in Hindi, read: “Listen, you will get paid to close the account. Otherwise, we can get you killed even in America.” Another message read: “We have your number. It won’t take us time to find your house.”
CJP launches signature campaign to demand EducationMinister’s resignation
Dipke claimed the threat to his life after launching a signature campaign demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leaks.
Till the time of publication of this report, the campaign had received over 2,79,000 signatures.
What is the Cockroach Janta Party?
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged as a satirical online platform last week after after comments made by CJI Surya Kant during a hearing on May 15 triggered a controversy. While hearing a plea related to the designation of a Senior Advocate in the Delhi High Court, the CJI criticised people he accused of attacking institutions.
“There are youngsters like cockroaches, who don’t get any employment or have any place in the profession. Some become media, some become social media, RTI activists and other activists, and they start attacking everyone,” he had said.
The remarks sparked backlash online, prompting the Chief Justice to later clarify that his criticism was directed at individuals allegedly entering professions using fake qualifications, not at India’s youth in general.
“It is totally baseless to suggest that I criticised the youth of our nation,” he said, adding that young Indians continue to inspire him.
Soon after the comments drew attention, Dipke criticised the statement on X. A day later, he introduced the “Cockroach Janta Party” concept and circulated a membership form online, triggering a social media trend.
The campaign found support among several opposition leaders, including Akhilesh Yadav and Mahua Moitra, while others dismissed it as a short-lived viral phenomenon.
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On Thursday, the X account of ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ was withheld in India after the Centre issued directions based on Intelligence Bureau inputs citing “national security concerns”, a senior government official told The Indian Express.
According to the official, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology invoked Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, to direct X to block access to the account in India. The request reportedly followed recommendations from the Intelligence Bureau.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because such directives are confidential, said the IB had flagged the account over concerns that it was sharing inflammatory material that could potentially affect India’s sovereignty and security. Authorities were also reportedly concerned about the growing popularity of the account among younger users.
Section 69(A) gives the Central government powers to restrict public access to online content in matters linked to national security, sovereignty, public order, or prevention of incitement to offences.
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The blocking process is carried out under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009, under which such orders remain confidential.