'Politics nowadays...' Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke's parents fear for his arrest amid CJP's meteoric rise

Dipke's parents, who live in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, have told a Marathi news channel that they have lost their sleep after learning about Abhijeet’s move and are not keen on letting their son enter politics.

As the satirical digital outfit Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) reaches new heights every day with overwhelming reactions from social media users and media, the parents of its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, fear that he could land in trouble or even face arrest.

The outfit has garnered over 19 million followers on Instagram since it was founded barely a week ago by Boston University student Dipke, earlier associated with the Aam Aadmi Party.

His parents, Bhagwan and Anita Dipke, who live in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, told a Marathi news channel on Thursday that they have lost their sleep after learning about Abhijeet’s move and are not keen on letting their son enter politics.

Cockroach Janata Party, according to Dipke, was born following a controversy over Chief Justice of India Surya Kant using the terms “parasites” and “cockroaches” while pulling up a lawyer for his plea seeking senior designation.

Though the CJI later clarified that he was misquoted and his remarks were directed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession through “fake and bogus degrees”, the CJP, with the insect as its symbol, took the social media by storm.

“If we look at politics nowadays, fear is natural, no matter how many followers he has. In one of his interviews, he himself expressed fear of being arrested after returning to India. We read about such incidents in newspapers,” said Bhagwan Dipke.

Abhijeet’s mother, Anita, said she would want her son to stay away from politics and instead focus on getting a job.

“We just want him to come home safely. Whether he continues in politics will be his decision, but we do not want him to pursue it. I do not know whether he will listen to us or not. I will not support him in this. I am worried about him,” she said.

The mother said Abhijeet studied in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar initially and later moved to Pune for further studies. Engineering was difficult for him, so he decided to move towards mass media, she said.

Bhagwan added that Abhijeet decided to study journalism abroad because his sister was already there. The father said he wanted his son to take up a job in Pune or Delhi.

The parents said they first learned about the CJP from a neighbour. “Later, I was told by one of my grandchildren that he has more followers on social media than many prominent people in the country. Earlier, he had worked with the AAP. Even then, I had told him that we were not into politics and that he should pursue a service,” said Anita.

Bhagwan said the explosion of CJP on social media has made him anxious. “I’m worried because he is now famous. And such individuals get arrested. I have not slept for the past two nights worrying about what might happen to him. I hate politics and have no interest in it,” he added.

Using memes, the CJP platform has quickly gained traction through sharp political satire and commentary. Much of its content centres on youth concerns such as unemployment, examination paper leaks and education, packaged through graphics, animation, manifestos and charter-style demands.

(With PTI inputs)