India's 'Cockroach Janta Party' Youth Movement Surges Online

A remark by Chief Justice Surya Kant describing some young activists as “cockroaches” sparked the formation of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a self‑styled movement of unemployed, digitally active Gen Z in India. The party’s provisional manifesto calls for ending post‑retirement perks for judges, protecting each vote by threatening to arrest the Chief Election Commissioner under the UAPA if a vote is removed, reserving 50% of parliamentary and cabinet seats for women, freeing the media from corporate control, and barring defecting legislators from contests for 20 years.

The CJP quickly amassed a large online following; its Instagram account reportedly has about three million followers, claimed to be double the BJP’s. After the party’s website and X account were briefly blocked by the Union government, members of the RSS and cyber teams of the BJP announced a campaign against the CJP. Several political parties, including the Left and the Telugu Desam’s Andhra Pradesh unit, have urged authorities to listen to the youth, while right‑wing parties have signaled resistance.