'Voice of the unemployed': Who's behind the 'Cockroach Janata Party' with 1 lakh members in 3 days

Are you unemployed, lazy, chronically online and can rant professionally?

If the answer to the above questions is yes, then you can become a member of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), says the newly-launched party's official website.

The party, a satirical reply to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant likening unemployed youngsters to cockroaches, came into existence on May 16 — a day after the remarks were made.

Since then, the CJP has amassed over 38,000 followers on X and 4,20,000 followers on Instagram. The CJP claims that 1 lakh people have joined the party since its launch. Big names like TMC's Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad have also been "admitted" to the party.

The CJP's mission is to "build a party for the young people who keep getting called lazy, chronically online, and — most recently — cockroaches."

"That's it. That's the mission. The rest is satire," says its website.

Who is the founder of CJP?

The party's website lists Abhijeet Dipke as the founder of the party. According to a report by The Hindu, the 30-year-old is a student of public relations at Boston University and has previously volunteered with the social media team of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from 2020 to 2023.

In a post on X, Abhijeet "condemned" the CJI's strongly worded clarification on his 'cockroach' remarks, saying he was "pained" by media reports that suggested he criticised youth.

"Being the founder of Cockroach Janta Party I condemn this clarification. I have my differences with the PM but I believe the CJI has no right to insult him. Not having a legitimate degree does not give anyone the right to call fellow citizens parasites," he wrote on X.

CJP's manifesto

The party says that it firmly believes in the Constitution of India and will always work towards protecting its values.

It also has a five-point manifesto that proposes that if the CJP comes in power, "no Chief Justice shall be granted a Rajya Sabha seat as a post-retirement reward."

Other resolutions include 50 per cent reservation for women in the Parliament, barring MP's and MLAs from contesting elections for 20 years in case of defection, arresting the chief election commissioner (CEC) under UAPA in case of "legit vote deletion" and cancelling licenses of all media houses owned by Ambani and Adani.