'Social media accounts, website taken down': CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleges govt crackdown

New Delhi: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday alleged another round of government crackdown on his satirical digital outfit, including blocking access to its social media accounts, hacking into his personal Instagram account, and taking down its website.

This comes two days after CJP's account on X was withheld in India, following which Dipke created a new one.

“The government has taken down our iconic website. Ten lakh cockroaches had signed up on our website. Six lakh cockroaches had signed a petition demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan,” Dipke wrote in a post on X.

“Why is the government so scared of cockroaches? But this dictatorial behaviour is opening the eyes of India's youth. Our only crime is that we were demanding a better future for ourselves. But you can't get rid of us that easily. We’re working on a new home right now. Cockroaches never die.”

A day earlier, the outfit launched a campaign seeking Pradhan's resignation over alleged systemic failures in the education sector and the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. Later on Friday, Dipke said he was receiving death threats and shared screenshots of the messages.

According to Dipke, the fresh crackdown includes hacking of the CJP’s and his own Instagram pages, withholding of the X account, and taking down of the backup account.

“Please note that we currently do not have access to any of our platforms. Any post made after this should not be considered an official statement from the Cockroach Janta Party,” he said.

The Boston-based political communication strategist linked the actions to the outfit’s campaign against Pradhan. “Action should have been taken against the Education Minister for the paper leak. For the student who lost his life due to the government's failure. But in new India, action is being taken against the Cockroach Janta Party for demanding accountability,” he said.

In a post shared by its backup handle, 'Cockroach is Back', on X, the CJP said it had reached the milestone of “one million registered cockroaches” on its website in less than a week. “The movement keeps getting bigger despite all the crackdown!” it said.

Within a week of its launch, the popularity of the CJP has skyrocketed among India’s Gen Z on the basis of its meme-driven movement against youth unemployment, inflation, and exam leaks.

Formed after the infamous cockroach comment by Chief Justice Surya Kant, the collective amassed over 20 million Instagram followers in less than a week, rapidly outpacing major political parties online.

Meanwhile, political opinion on the CJP remains divided. Union minister and Bengal BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar alleged that nearly half of the CJP’s followers were from Pakistan. But Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor said such massive popularity underscored public distress over unemployment, corruption, and price rise, and that the government should be concerned.