Following Chief Justice Suryakant’s controversial ‘cockroach’ remark, a digital satirical movement named the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ has emerged in India. Within just three days, this movement has garnered over 100,000 members, beginning to influence the nation’s political parties. Founder Abhijit Deepke describes it as a collective outburst against unemployment and exam paper leaks. The oral comments made by Chief Justice Suryakant last week during a Supreme Court hearing triggered a massive stir online, unexpectedly giving birth to a new form of resistance.
The online campaign, named the ‘Cockroach Janata Party’ (CJP), launched with the belief that “there is some truth behind every joke,” has quickly become a focus of discussion. Originating from satire, sarcasm, and social media trends, the campaign’s fascinating and unusual start contrasts with its rapid success and the potential impact it could have on the future political landscape.
The CJP’s inception dates back to May 15, 2026, during a Supreme Court hearing involving a notorious fake law degree case. Chief Justice Suryakant’s verbal remark during the hearing, in which he described unemployed youth infiltrating the system like cockroaches — by becoming Members of Parliament, media personnel, and RTI activists — quickly spread across social media. Within hours, the video went viral on X and Instagram. Millions of users, especially young people, perceived this as an insult directed at all unemployed youth and expressed widespread outrage.
On May 16, Chief Justice Suryakant issued a clarification, accusing segments of the media of misrepresenting his comment and clarifying that his criticism was specifically aimed at those entering the legal profession with fake degrees. However, the outrage that had already spread online was impossible to contain. This intense dissatisfaction and anger led to the emergence of the digital front called the ‘Cockroach Janata Party.’
The credit for starting this movement goes to 30-year-old Abhijit Deepke, a resident of Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Maharashtra. Professionally, he is a political communication strategist. After completing his journalism degree in Pune, he pursued a postgraduate degree in Public Relations at Boston University, USA.
On May 16, the day after the Chief Justice’s remarks, Abhijit shared a Google Form link on the X platform for anyone wanting to join the Cockroach Janata Party. He described the platform as a new space for the unemployed, lazy, ever-online, and those capable of satirical professional commentary — the ‘cockroaches.’ This post fueled a social media firestorm, and within a few hours, more than 15,000 people signed up via the form. The campaign’s momentum surged so rapidly that membership crossed 100,000 in just three days. By May 20, more than 100,000 formal memberships had been recorded.
Initially started as a digital satire, this unusual online movement has grown so powerful and widespread that even the established political parties in the country have been compelled to take its impact seriously.
