NEW DELHI — What started as a funny internet joke has turned into a major real-world fight. The official X (Twitter) account of the viral “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP) was suddenly banned in India following a legal demand from the government.
The online group was created just days ago to mock a comment by the Chief Justice of India, who had compared certain youth activists to “cockroaches.” Young people across the country quickly joined the page to vent their anger over unemployment and exam paper leaks.
The account grew faster than anyone expected, exploding past 14.5 million followers on Instagram. This completely crushed India’s ruling party, the BJP, which sits at 8.8 million followers.
However, things got serious when the CJP used its massive reach to attack the government and demand that the Education Minister resign. Hours later, their X account was blocked. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke also warned that people are actively trying to hack their massive Instagram page to shut it down.
Experts say that by trying to ban and censor the page, the government has accidentally made it more popular. It proves that India’s youth have successfully turned funny internet memes into a powerful political tool that leaders can no longer ignore.