'Cockroach Janata Party' launches campaign seeking Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation

Back with the tagline ''Cockroaches Never Die'' after its original X handle was withheld in India, the ''Cockroach Janata Party'' (CJP), a satirical social-media account, launched a campaign on Friday demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The campaign, spearheaded through CJP's new X handle -- ''Cockroach Is Back'' -- and its Instagram platform, centres on alleged systemic failures in the education sector, particularly concerns surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 ''paper-leak'' controversy.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged followers to support an online petition demanding Pradhan's resignation.

''How are you cockroaches? Everyone is saying you are doing great on the internet, but I think now it is time to do some real work. Today, we are starting a petition demanding the resignation of the education minister,'' Dipke said in a video message.

Calling for accountability, he said failures in the education system have adversely affected students.

''It is time now to make the system accountable. It was the fault of the system that over 22 lakh students' future was impacted, it was the fault of the system that NEET students committed suicide. Whatever happens, Dharmendra Pradhan will have to resign,'' he said.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) for admissions in medical courses held on May 3 was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) recently amid allegations of paper leak. The matter is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a re-test is scheduled to be held on June 21.

Dipke also claimed to have received threats amid the campaign against Pradhan, posting on social media: ''Receiving death threats now.''.

The resignation campaign comes a day after the original CJP handle was withheld in India by X, prompting Dipke to launch a new handle -- ''Cockroach is Back'' -- with the tagline -- ''Cockroaches Never Die''.

''This was expected since there were attempts to hack the account. But this is a self-goal by the government,'' Dipke had told PTI, adding that his team would pursue legal remedies.

According to Dipke, the original CJP handle had more than two lakh followers before X withheld it. Till Friday afternoon, around 24 hours since its launch, the ''Cockroach is Back'' X handle had more than 1.65 lakh followers.

On Instagram, the CJP crossed 20.5 million (2.05 crore) followers on Friday afternoon, leaving the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has around 9.1 million (91 lakh) followers on the Meta-owned platform, as well as main opposition party Congress, which has around 13.4 million (1.34 crore) followers, far behind.

On X, the BJP still rules the roost with 23 million (2.3 crore) followers, while the Congress's official handle has 11.5 million (1.15 crore) followers.

The satirical platform emerged last week following a controversy around remarks attributed to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant regarding ''cockroaches'' and ''parasites'' during a court hearing on the ''senior'' designation of lawyers. The CJI later clarified that his observations, directed at individuals entering the legal profession through ''fake and bogus degrees'', were misquoted.

What began as an online satire project has since evolved into a wider conversation on digital dissent and youth frustration, with the platform using memes and sharp political commentary to address issues, such as unemployment, exam-paper leaks and education.

The rapid rise has drawn attention not only from meme creators and young users but also from public figures who view it as a form of digital dissent.

Politicians, including Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, have engaged with or expressed interest in the movement alongside activists, such as Prashant Bhushan and Anjali Bharadwaj.

The withholding of the CJP's X handle has also drawn criticism, with Moitra, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and Swaraj India Party's Yogendra Yadav questioning why the account was taken down.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said ''suppressing'' the handle is ''foolish in a democracy''.

''Democracy's great virtue is the outlets it provides for public sentiment, frustration and grievances. Letting these be aired on a satirical site is in the national interest,'' Tharoor said in a post on X.

The former Union minister said several users ''dismissed it as a Pakistan-manufactured conspiracy'', as he also pointed out at Dipke's counter claim that 94 per cent of his followers are based in India.

''Whatever be the founders' motivations, there is no denying that they have tapped into an important strain of national sentiment among our youth. As custodians of our democracy, both government and opposition need to sit up, listen and tackle the underlying discontent. Ignoring it, denying it and worst of all, suppressing it would be disastrous,'' he added.

Tharoor said such movements serve like the ''valves on a pressure-cooker, letting off steam''.

''I prefer satire to chaos, anarchy or revolution. I also feel it is our job to identify and deliver solutions to the problems of Young India. Let's lift the ban and tune in!'' he said.

While Dipke was earlier associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the CJP has projected itself as a broader satirical movement, describing itself on its website as a ''political party for the people the system forgot to count'' and ''the voice of the lazy and unemployed''.

The blocking of the CJP's X handle has also drawn criticism from digital-rights group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), which has described the action as a ''blatant misuse of State power'' and an attempt to curb free speech.

In a statement on Friday, the IFF pointed out that the account has been withheld in India under section 69A of the Information Technology Act and argued that political commentary and criticism of public institutions are protected forms of expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

The group also raised concerns over what it described as the opaque nature of blocking orders under the confidential framework of section 69A.

''State censorship like the blocking of CJP's X account propagates opacity and provides affected users with no options for redressal,'' it said, while calling on the Union government to ensure timely notice and avenues for remedy for affected users.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)